I'm a Loser, Baby
by Emily Writer
Summary: Months after her graduation, with nowhere else to go, Marley Rose returns to McKinley High in hopes of bringing back the New Directions. [SYOC closed; all canon from New New York to Dreams Come True is ignored]
1. Main Characters Cast List

**I'm a Loser, Baby:**

 **Main Characters**

(alphabetical order)

* * *

 **Halley Levona Akerman**

 **Age** : 15 years old

 **Date of birth** : July 30 2000

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Cashier at grocery store and waitress at diner

 **Grade** : Sophomore

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, orchestra, hockey team, lacrosse team, student council (treasurer), debate team, academic decathlon, science bowl and Red Cross club.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Ariel Winter

 **Portrayed vocally by** : JoJo Levesque

 **Vocal fach** : Dramatic mezzo-soprano

 **Vocal range** : C3 - C6

 **Family** : Mother Eliana (Courteney Cox), a defense attorney and Harvey (Zachary Gordon), twin brother.

 **Personality** : Halley's entire personality is centered around her vision for the future. Naturally opportunistic and wonderfully yet horribly ambitious, Halley is an incredibly hardworking, highly intelligent girl who will stop at nothing in order to get what she wants. Blunt, to the point of being tactless, Halley is not afraid of hurting anybody else, which has led to her having spent her entire life thus far as a friendless loner who just about everybody hates - something independent, unemotional and work-oriented Halley doesn't mind at all. Halley does however possess the ability to make a connection with another human being, despite coming across as an unfeeling robot to most, but only if she can personally relate to them on an emotional level. Rational, hyper-organized and, on the rare occasion she _does_ care about what somebody else may think of her, somewhat socially awkward, Halley's a total nerd, but not the kind you'd want to mess with.

 **Creator** : _charlieandme_

* * *

 **Tate Alan Burnett**

 **Age** : 17 years old

 **Date of birth** : August 4 1998

 **Sexuality** : Homosexual

 **Occupation** : Barista / waiter at The Lima Bean

 **Grade** : Junior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, the Cheerios, swimming team, track team and orchestra.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Ansel Elgort

 **Portrayed vocally by** : Ed Sheeran

 **Vocal fach** : Tenor

 **Family** : Mother Jordan (Holly Marie Combs), a dentist and father Hank (Paul Rudd), a lawyer. Sisters Sloan (Nina Dobrev), age 20 and a design student, Bryn (Kelli Berglund), age 15, and Leah (Maddie Ziegler), age 12. Brother Aiden (Hayden Byerly), age 13.

 **Personality** : Despite being one of the only few openly gay kids at McKinley High, being a Cheerio and having an outgoing, humorous personality, Tate is best known for his sass, for being an utter smart-aleck and never apologizing for it. Sensible, honest and a realist, Tate is not afraid to make a snarky comment to bring somebody else back down to eart when they've got their head too far up in the clouds. Growing up in a family of overachievers and upcoming superstars in some light or the other, Tate has become incredibly insecure about himself, often feeling terribly average, or at least not much more than second place, causing him to come across as grumpy and bitter. Even with his grouchy, jealous nature, Tate is loyal, supportive, sensitive and deeply empathetic, being better at expressing his feelings through actions than through words. Fun-loving and spontaneous, Tate is perseverant even when he's feeling fearful, always being up for an adventure.

 **Creator** : _TheExtrovertedNerd_

* * *

 **Sara Marilena Castillo**

 **Age** : 17 years old

 **Date of birth** : September 2 1998

 **Sexuality** : Homosexual (closeted)

 **Occupation** : Cashier at Macy's

 **Grade** : Junior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, track team, soccer team, hockey team and swimming team. Possibly also the Cheerios.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Seychelle Gabriel

 **Portrayed vocally by** : Sasha Pieterse

 **Vocal fach** : Lyric mezzo-soprano

 **Vocal range** : D3 - G5 - C#6

 **Tessitura** : G3 - G4

 **Family** : Mother Pilar (Constance Marie), a nurse and father Guillermo (Joe Maganiello), a gym instructor. Twin siblings aged 15, Raoul (Jake T. Austin) and Naya (Becky G).

 **Personality** : While generally shy when meeting new people, Sara is at heart incredibly feisty, passionate and stubborn, always being one to follow her heart no matter what. Dancing for as long as she could walk, Sara has become an active and athletic person, even a bit tomboyish, always preffering to keep herself busy and on the go. Sara is incredibly sensitive, and therefore rather temperamental, and unafraid to confront anybody who hurts her or anybody she cares about, being fiercely protective over her loved ones. Although she tries her best to be a genuinely kind person, Sara can be frustratingly stubborn and unforgiving when she feels she's been wronged, and she can be rather biased in her judgements of others, often not liking anybody her friends don't like for no real reason. Sara is in essence, a quiet and shy but sweet girl with a bit of a temper, an adventurous and daring streak, and rather impulsive.

 **Creator** : _Emily Writer_

* * *

 **Francesca "Frankie" Maya Cavallini**

 **Age** : 17 years old

 **Date of birth** : April 26 1998

 **Sexuality** : Bisexual

 **Occupation** : Works at the Clinique counter at the local shopping mall

 **Grade** : Senior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, prom committee, track team and swimming team.

 **Portrayed by** : Selena Gomez

 **Vocal fach** : Soubrette (Soprano)

 **Vocal range** : Eb3 - C6

 **Tessitura** : C4 - D5

 **Family** : Mother Olivia (Catherine Zeta Jones) and father David (Mark Ruffalo) co-own a big furniture company.

 **Personality** : Frankie is the ultimate popular girl, being strikingly gorgeous, a warm and friendly person and notorious for what she's willing to do in the bedroom. While her bubbly and somewhat playful, fun-loving personality is certainly charming, Frankie is polite for the sake of being polite, and she certainly doesn't care as much about her relationships as she does for hearing the latest gossip. Although she can be rather dishonest and insincere, Frankie is by no means cunning or calculating - in fact, she's a bit of a ditz, lacking in book smarts and common sense, although she does have a knack for understanding people and their feelings more easily than most and is rather observant, and skilled at reading interpersonal situations. Frankie lives in the moment, prioritizing what she considers to be fun above all else, and having absolute disregard for any consequences. Curious in her own way, Frankie loves to stir the pot, to get a reaction out of others and to watch things explode, and where she goes, drama follows.

 **Creator** : _whenyou'rereadycomeandgetit_

* * *

 **Joseph "Joey" Zander Dooley**

 **Age** : 15 years old

 **Date of birth** : May 18 2000

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Delivers pizza

 **Grade** : Sophomore

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, academic decathlon, robotics, the AV club, track team and lacrosse team.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Nick Robinson

 **Portrayed vocally by** : Shawn Mendes

 **Vocal fach** : Countertenor

 **Family** : Mother Marcia (Tina Fey), a middle school math teacher, father Lenny (Matthew Perry), an accountant, and sister Nora (Joey King), age 12.

 **Personality** : Joey is a total nerd, curious, intellectual and studious, but completely clueless on how to understand and interact with other people. While he is genuinely friendly despite being a bit reserved and quiet, Joey is incredibly socially awkward, with a terribly forced sense of humor and a clear obliviousness as to how others might respond to him, leading to him embarrassing himself on a daily basis, but failing to realize it. Growing up in a family that has instilled the belief that academic intelligence is the most desired and admired gift in him, Joey believes himself to be incredibly cool despite the fact that he is knocked down on a daily basis due to his incredibly low ranking on the social ladder. Despite his overconfidence, oblivion and his tendency to behave in selfish ways at times due to him being inept at dealing with other people and their feelings, Joey is a sweet guy with a good heart, who almost never has bad intentions. Being naturally logical, with an analytical mind that has a knack for figuring out how things work, Joey is rather cautious, although he is just as fun-loving as everybody else, at least somewhat spontaneous, and loving the feeling of living in the moment.

 **Creator** : _TheExtrovertedNerd_

* * *

 **Adonis Blaze Foster**

 **Age** : 17 years old

 **Date of birth** : May 13 1998

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Dance teacher and automobile repair worker

 **Grade** : Junior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, wrestling team, football team and baseball team.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Daniel Sharman

 **Portrayed vocally by** : John O'Callaghan

 **Vocal fach** : Baritenor

 **Family** : Mother Delilah (Scarlett Johansson), a secretary, brother Link, age 14, sister Malia (Chloe Grace Moretz), age 13 and sister Demetra "Demi" (Jaycee Wilkins), age 9.

 **Personality** : Blaze is notorious for being McKinley High's resident bad boy, for being nothing but trouble, which is why most people choose to stay away from him, and why he is largely feared by his fellow peers. Silent and a bit of a loner, with a naturally cynical nature, Blaze is often seen as mysterious and endearing, despite his bad image, as he is far more brooding than he is a conversationalist, and because he tends to push just about everybody away. Genuine and straightforward enough to at least let you know if he doesn't want to speak with you, when Blaze does talk, his words are usually meaningful, and he is incredibly witty and even very sarcastic. While he is very protective over those he cares about and will happily do little favors to show somebody that he likes them, Blaze is rather defensive, being incredibly quick to fight back if he feels the situation calls for it. A clever young man, Blaze is observant, with a great memory for even the smallest of details and good intuition, being skilled at being able to tell if a situation is going to blow up.

 **Creator** : _Mrs. Cameron Mitchell_

* * *

 **Lincoln "Link" Josiah Foster**

 **Age** : 14 years old

 **Date of birth** : November 18 2000

 **Sexuality** : Bisexual (closeted)

 **Occupation** : Tutor

 **Grade** : Freshman

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, tutoring club, volunteering club and the academic decathlon. Possibly also the debate team.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Dylan Everett

 **Portrayed vocally by** : Justin Bieber meets Austin Mahone

 **Vocal fach** : Tenor

 **Family** : Mother Delilah (Scarlett Johansson), a secretary, brother Blaze, age 17, sister Malia (Chloe Grace Moretz), age 13 and sister Demetra "Demi" (Jaycee Wilkins), age 9.

 **Personality** : In stark contrast to his brother, charismatic and bubbly little Link is definitely more envied by other boys than he is feared, having a bad reputation for being a "girlfriend stealer" due to being quite the ladies' man, despite his age. Confident, cute and charming, to the point of coming across as a real life Disney Prince, Link is mature and a gentleman, sophisticated, and quite the flirt. Eloquent, put-together, respectful and polite, with a preppy and classy demeanor, Link is an intellectual young man, skilled in academics, performing and being great with people, especially with girls. His flirtation comes across as flattering and endearing rather than annoying or creepy as it does with most boys his age, and being as helpful and sweet as he is, it is no wonder so many girls swoon over him. Romantic, affectionate and refreshingly mature and responsible for his age, Link is seen as the perfect boyfriend despite his inability to commit to one girl and tendency to hop from one relationship to the next in not much time.

 **Creator** : _Mrs. Cameron Mitchell_

* * *

 **Vienna Sophia Harper**

 **Age** : 16 years old

 **Date of birth** : December 14 1998

 **Sexuality** : Homosexual

 **Occupation** : Assistant coach for a girl's club lacrosse team

 **Grade** : Junior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, varsity soccer team (goalie and captain), basketball team (shooting guard) and softball team (pitcher).

 **Portrayed by** : Tori Kelly

 **Vocal fach** : Coloratura soprano (with whistle register)

 **Family** : Mother Emily (Christine Anu) and father Erik (Colin Farrell) co-own a business. Brother Kieran (Rob Evans), age 21, is a student at UCLA.

 **Personality** : Vienna's an incredibly hardworking and athletic girl, passionate about sports, to the point of her entire life revolving around them and her entire personality being defined by her love and passion for all things athletic. As a jock, with a calm, laid back yet mysterious aura, Vienna is incredibly popular, both for her superb athletic talents and for her dark sense of humor, for being so effortlessly witty and charming despite her more reserved personality. A natural leader, fearless, confident, responsible and a perfectionist, Vienna is a fiery, tough girl who does as she pleases without conforming to what the majority expect of her. Despite being quite the goofball behind her calm and collected layers, Vienna may come across as cold-hearted to some due to being rather out of touch with her emotions and the emotions of those around her, tending to bottle her feelings up rather than proudly wear them on her sleeve. Determined and committed, Vienna doesn't allow herself time for much more than sports, spending almost all of her time practicing on the field or in the court and pushing herself well past her limits.

 **Creator** : _Mrs. Cameron Mitchell_

* * *

 **Landon Jonah Holt**

 **Age** : 18 years old

 **Date of birth** : July 27 1997

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Landscaping / gardening

 **Grade** : Senior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, interfaith paintball league, the Thunderclap (editor), the McKinley Muckraker (editor / writer), soccer team and art club.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Josh Peck

 **Portrayed vocally by** : Nasri Atweh

 **Vocal fach** : Baritenor

 **Family** : Parents are divorced. Father Oliver (Jon Favreau) is a businessman, step-mother Serena (Laura Bell Bundy) is a teacher, and paternal half-sister Nicole (Olivia Holt) is 15 years old. Landon lives with his mother Heather Adkins (Demi Moore), a bookkeeper and her partner, an environmental lawyer Christy Kang (Lucy Liu), as well as their adoptive son Brandon (Karan Brar), age 11.

 **Personality** : Full of quirks, Landon is what others may perceive as a total weirdo, although he certainly doesn't mind. Aloof and somewhat shy, Landon is independent and individualistic, without a care as to what others may think - unless he is forced to uncomfortably be the center of attention; he prides himself in being as unique and as true to himself as possible. Strongly valuing genuineness, Landon is straightforward and to-the-point, and he has little patience for games and lies, being fearless about being himself and unafraid to share his opinions, even if others may disagree or be offended by it, which is easy to do when you're this carefree. With a naturally philosophical mind and a flair for spiritual, theological topics, Landon is a classic hipster. With countless superstitions and a deep love of all things artsy, Landon may come across as crazy, but this shameless guy is just another goofball, albeit more honest than most, trying to live a life that keeps him happy.

 **Creator** : _TheExtrovertedNerd_

* * *

 **Emily Olivia Lee**

 **Age** : 15 years old

 **Date of birth** : June 17 2000

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Babysitter / tutor

 **Grade** : Freshman

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, drama club, the McKinley Muckraker (writer), student council (social activities director), AV club, film club, Renaissance club and culinary club.

 **Portrayed by** : Piper Curda

 **Vocal fach** : Mezzo-soprano

 **Family** : Parents had divorced and mother Olivia (Kristen Bell) is deceased, so Emily lives with her sister Diana (Jamie Chung), age 29 and a nurse. Estranged father James (Randall Park) is a college professor and is engaged to socialite Katherine Smith (Neve Campbell).

 **Personality** : Emily is the kind of teenager that every parents would love their child to be: a straight A student, genuinely kind and obedient, with great leadership skills and a naturally selfless personality. Sweet and polite Emily is a shy and naive girl who is slow to trust others due to having spent most of her life shielded from the world from her overprotective sister, causing her to become quick to judge other people and easily envious of them. Despite her distrustful, shy and inexperienced nature, Emily is adventurous and is eager to be an active part of the world and to try new things, having developed a bit of a rebellious streak due to feeling trapped in her own home. Due to her naïveté, Emily is quite gullible, and due to being easy to trick along with her kind nature, she is easily taken advantage of by other people. Emily is especially naive when it comes to romance, being fearful of the thought of spending her life alone and looking forward to finally having her first boyfriend and falling in love.

 **Creator** : _DisneyGleekQueen101_

* * *

 **Zara Yasmeen Nasser**

 **Age** : 16 years old

 **Date of birth** : December 12 1998

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Works at a veterinary clinic, and when she needs to, at a local library

 **Grade** : Junior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, the Thunderclap (photographer) and the McKinley Muckraker (photographer / writer).

 **Portrayed physically by** : Naomi Scott

 **Portrayed vocally by** : Katherine McPhee

 **Vocal fach** : Lyric contralto (with vocal fry register)

 **Vocal range** : (C2) G2 - F5

 **Family** : Mother Malika (Kathy Najimy), a housewife and former psychiatrist, and father Rahim (Naveen Andrews), a neurosurgeon, brother Hassan (Zayn Malik), age 19 and a student at NYU, and sister Amina (Rowan Blanchard), age 13.

 **Personality** : Spirited Zara is a fighter in spite of her flaky personality, causing her to jump from one thing to the next without much thought, out of sheer curiosity, mischievousness, indecisiveness and the hatred of feeling stifled. While she looks like a sweet, shy girl, Zara is actually pretty daring and not in any way easily embarrassed; what she really is is a quiet and aloof girl, reluctant to trust, and perfectly happy on her own, relishing in feelings of freedom and independence. While she is generally calm and easygoing, Zara will not hesitate to call you out if something doesn't sit well with her, being stubborn and uncompromising. Protective about her feelings, Zara acts on her emotions, viewing them as nobody's business but her own, which along with her strong values of self-respect and independence, could cause her to behave selfishly at times. Cold and compassionate, cynical and cautious yet a dreamer, a romantic and an idealist, Zara's a mass of contradictions.

 **Creator** : _charlieandme_

* * *

 **Marley Willow Rose**

 **Age:** 19 years old

 **Date of birth:** July 17 1996

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Director of the New Directions

 **Portrayed by:** Melissa Benoist

 **Vocal fach** : Mezzo-soprano

 **Vocal range** : Eb3 - F5 - B5

 **Family:** Mother Millie (Trisha Rae Stahl), cook at a fast-food restaurant.

* * *

 **Sean Heinrich Yamazaki (Japanese: Ryuuji)**

 **Age** : 17 years old

 **Date of birth** : March 27 1998

 **Sexuality** : Heterosexual

 **Occupation** : Judo instructor for children, and when needed, a cook at his uncle's restaurant

 **Grade** : Junior

 **Clubs/teams** : Glee club, soccer team, judo team, volleyball team, Asian Student Union and culinary club.

 **Portrayed physically by** : Huang Zitao

 **Portrayed vocally by** : Scott Hoying

 **Vocal fach** : Baritone

 **Vocal range** : G1 - G5

 **Family** : Parents Akihito and Hilda are deceased. He and his 9-year-old sister Nadine (Mana Ashida) live with their uncle Kazama (Tadanobu Asano), the owner of a Japanese restaurant. Grandfather Kenichi (George Takei) lives in Japan.

 **Personality** : Growing up in as part of a dangerous family, Sean's childhood was certainly not what one would describe as ideal, causing Sean to have spent most of his school life completely friendless and alone. In order to compensate for the loneliness he'd felt growing up in Japan, Sean often poses as somebody much more bubbly and happy-go-lucky than he naturally is, in order to collect as many valuable friendships as he possibly can. Flirtatious and teasing, Sean is outgoing and rarely seen without a smile on his face, although his true personality is a lot more calm and secretive than what he appears to be, mostly because of his family's background. Although incredibly loyal and protective, feeling a strong sense of duty and responsibility to the people he cares about and being a pacifist, Sean can become ruthless and violent when he loses his patience with somebody. With manipulation and rebelliousness in his DNA, Sean is rather recalcitrant, deeply disliking being controlled or made to follow instructions, with a desire to become a leader of sorts himself.

 **Creator** : _Hell Devil 13_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

 **Take on the World**

* * *

 ** _A/N: I apologize in advance for my terrible song choices. I was kind of in a rush to finish the chapter so I didn't put too much thought into song choices. I do think that the song I'd chosen for the RoseBerry duet fits Marley's (and everybody's) current storyline, and it's why the name of this chapter had changed - I'd found a song that would make more sense in context. Please don't make fun of me for using a Disney Channel song, though._**

 ** _A/A/N: You know how in Glee when a character sings and there's music coming out from nowhere? Remember that during the musical numbers in this chapter._**

 ** _A3/N: I really need some background characters to be students at McKinley (preferably villains). The form is on my profile._**

* * *

 **Side characters:**

Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale)

Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)

Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera)

Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch)

Janelle Taylor (Candice Patton)

Kitty Wilde (Becca Tobin)

* * *

The choir room is bare, quiet, dead - unlike the way Marley remembers it.

She misses the noise. She misses the drama. She misses the music.

She misses trying to figure who Jake was behind all the walls he put up and she misses the goofing around and the dorky dances with Ryder. She misses girl talk with Unique and exchanging saving tips with Sam. She misses Kitty's constant eye rolling and Tina crying at the drop of a hat. She misses Artie's intellectual snobbery and Blaine breaking out into song at every chance he gets and Brittany saying something completely off topic and weird that would make all of them exchange confused glances and laugh. She misses Joe always saying something wise and spiritual and Sugar making the most grandiose gestures and wearing the flashiest outfits.

She misses Mr. Schue writing a word or two on the whiteboard and spinning around dramatically to announce the week's assignment. She misses Finn trying his hardest to remain positive even when things are at their worst.

And she's finally going to have it all back. Well, sorta.

Principal Sylvester had been kind enough to give Marley a chance to resurrect the glee club, although the older woman did seem a little bit distracted by Marley's "angelically sparkly baby blue doe-like eyes" - Sue's words, not Marley's - and she _did_ seem to make her choice out of pity, since Marley had mentioned not being able to afford to go to college.

Marley is placing chairs in the choir room, just the way they used to be placed, checking her watch every two minutes or so. She was aching for company, and she also needed some help.

It's been two days since she called Mr. Schuester, Unique, Blaine and so many of the others to share the good news. Unfortunately, only four of them are able to return to Lima for a few days, and Mr. Schue is not one of them. Although Marley's never been too close to him, she really needed his advice.

Marley hears the clacking of heels, walking through the empty hallway, growing louder and louder.

"It feels like nothing's changed, walking into this room. I swear, I can feel a song building up inside of me, ready to come out." Her first guest already begins to babble as she enters the room. "Oh, no, no, no. That is wrong - the chairs are supposed to be- never mind, I'm sorry. I just realized that even after all of this phones call, I _still_ haven't actually introduced myself. I am Rachel Berry, soon-to-be Broadway sensation - but you know that - and you must be Molly."

"It's Marley." the younger woman smiles warmly. "And thank you so much for coming on such short notice, Miss Berry."

"Oh, please call me Rachel." Miss Berry - er, _Rachel_ \- says. "I imagine that someday everyone is going to be calling me Miss Berry so I'm hanging onto all of the ' _Rachel_ 's. Anyway, as I was saying - the chairs are all wrong."

Marley steps back and looks at the chairs, furrowing her eyebrows. "They look fine to me."

"They just need to be a little bit further apart, so that when somebody from the back wants to come forward to share a song, they can walk, or if need be, _dance_ between the chairs without their clothing getting caught-"

"They always said you were an obsessive control freak."

Marley's head turns swiftly to face the door, immediately recognizing that voice, that tone, that snark.

"Kitty!" Marley beams.

Marley rushes over to Kitty without hesitation, holding open her arms to greet her old friend with a hug.

Kitty takes a step backwards and makes a dismissive hand gesture. She looks to be in a rotten mood, and Marley's a little confused, her arms falling to her sides.

"So, how are you planning on making music without a band?" Kitty asks casually, glancing around the room and crossing her arms.

"Uh... well, I haven't actually figured that out yet." Marley scratches her head.

It hadn't registered to Marley until this moment, and Marley's suddenly worried. The glee club needs money for funding, as does Marley herself, but she's almost certain she's not going to be able to support this glee club, financially.

"You could always go to the superintendent in order to get granted permission for the school to provide the club with a budget - and Sue Sylvester would never be able to overrule the superintendent." Rachel chimes in.

"Sue was already nice enough to give me a shot at bringing this glee club back." Marley tells Rachel, turning around to face the petite brunette. "I don't want to _force_ her to do anything."

Marley turns to Kitty again. "So, how are you? What are you doing now?"

"I'm in law school." Kitty says, although she doesn't look too thrilled to be telling Marley about her life. "I figured that if I could convince a girl that she was gaining weight just by altering _one_ outfit, I could convince just about anybody anything."

"Hey, sorry we're late." comes a voice that Marley recognizes to belong to Artie.

Marley turns to face the door for what she's sure is the last time, and from the corner of her eye, she sees Rachel doing the same. Artie and Santana have arrived - the last of whom were able to make it back to help Marley out.

"Hey, Kitty." Artie smiles at the blonde, only to be greeted back with an eye roll and a grunt.

"We would have been here sooner if Rachel hadn't made me drag all of our crap to her house all by myself, only for me to get stuck listening to her dads bitch about the terror that is the word ' _bae'_ and talk about the importance of Patti Lu-something's existence _._ It would have been less painful for me to belly-crawl for five miles on burning coals, naked." Santana complains very calmly, as she struts over to where Rachel had been placing chairs, and takes a seat.

Marley remembers from being mentored by Santana years ago that the girl complains a lot. She has a big heart, though - at least, that's what Marley had gathered from the little time they'd spent together.

"That would be Patti Lu _Pone_ ," Rachel states, "and do not sit here, Santana. I'm busy setting out these chairs."

"As I was saying," Kitty ignores the two older girls and gives Marley a stern look, "you can't have a glee club without a band."

"Or a budget." Artie adds. "Or members."

"Finding members is not going to be a problem." Marley tells the others. "After Artie and the others graduated and glee club got disbanded, it wasn't long until you could actually hear people singing in the hallways or drumming on their desks in class."

"And you're going to allow all of those people who walk around singing whatever's in their head to just join the glee club, no matter how tone deaf they may be?" Kitty asks.

"Sugar Motta was a terrible singer, but she was a fabulous dancer." Rachel says. "Glee club is more than just singing. Maybe there are students with songs in their hearts who can form the band, or perhaps they have incredible dance skills in spite of their lack of vocal talent like Mike Chang."

"Maybe the bad singers here are also super rich, like Sugar Motta." Santana says. "Donations couldn't hurt."

"I'll take care of the getting together a band." Marley tells the others. "I just need you guys to listen around school, and convince anybody who seems to have some kind of musical talent to audition for glee club."

"Is walking around our old school really going to help us find new members?" Artie asks, his voice getting a little higher - the way Marley noticed it usually did whenever he asked a question.

"Of course it will." Marley answers with growing enthusiasm. "Kids sing around here all the time; it's a miracle that the entire school hasn't burst into a spontaneous song-and-dance routine yet."

Artie still looks skeptical, and so do Kitty and Santana.

"You're probably right." Rachel says. "That's how we found Finn and Sam. And also Joe Hart, in a way, although that incredibly romantic and spontaneous singing telegram that Finn had-"

"Anyway," Artie cuts her off, rolling his eyes, "I'm sure the both of you must know some people who can sing."

Artie gestures to both Marley and Kitty, and before Marley can respond, Kitty answers Artie's question.

"There's this guy on the Cheerios," she says, "named Tate. He sings a lot and he's pretty good, although he's kind of annoying to be around. He finds something bad to say about everybody and everything."

"Pot and kettle." Santana smirks, looking at Kitty with a raised eyebrow as Kitty glares back at the older girl.

"I knew this guy who was in poetry club with me." Marley tells Artie - at this point, he seems to be the only one listening as Rachel had gone back to placing chairs and is begging Santana to get off her ass and help her, while Kitty picks at her nails and stares off into space. "His name is Landon Holt and I think he works for the Muckraker. He's got a really nice voice."

"Can we please get to focusing on gathering members when school actually starts?" Rachel asks. "Because there is no choir room as of right now."

"You're right." Marley says with a firm nod. "We've got a lot of boxes and a bunch of instruments to drag out of storage, so let's turn this place back into what it used to be."

Marley sees Kitty and Santana roll the eyes, and Artie happily sit back and relax, and they all get to work in helping Rachel to recreate their old choir room.

* * *

" _Dear Journal_ ,"

Sue Sylvester sits alone in her office, pen in her hand, deep in thought.

She's meant to be putting her first choice (truthfully, her only choice) for a new secretary through a test run to see if she's worth keeping around.

Sue looks over at Delia, her new secretary, who is stapling papers together. School hasn't even began; what is that skank up to? Sue sighs. Maybe Delia isn't _completely_ useless. At least she's working; Becky would have just sat there flipping through the latest issue of _Us Weekly_.

Sue looks at her journal again, her mindset shifting to where it had been before she got distracted by Dumbass Delia: glee club.

" _It's back_ ," she writes, all of her thoughts flowing almost directly onto the page of her journal. " _After years of trying my damn hardest to get rid of it, the glee club is actually back - and it's all because of me."_

" _Actually, it's all because of Marley Rose, that breathtakingly flawless heavenly-sent beauty whose angelically drop-dead gorgeous good looks had caused me to fall to my knees and swallow my pride. Metaphorically, of course. Sue Sylvester does not grovel at anybody's feet_."

" _I am mortified. Not at Marley, but at myself, for how easily I'd given in. But mostly, for how much I've missed having a glee club to destroy. Mostly for how happy I am that it's back_."

" _William McKinley High School holds no place for a mediocre show choir like the New Directions. Not for as long as I am alive and running this school. Ever since I'd become principal, McKinley has become one of the best schools in all of Lima. All of my sports teams are the best in the state, and my school has been, on average, been performing very well academically. The Cheerios is the best teen cheerleading squad in the entire country, and that is all because of me. If the glee club is going to stay, it has to be the best. On par with my Cheerios_."

" _The glee club needs to be pushed well past their limits, and who better to do that than Sue Sylvester? Mousy Marley Rose is only here to teach these Lima Losers how to have fun. I can actually push them to work harder, to become the best. And if I end up making their lives miserable to the point where they want to quit, who cares? Quitters don't belong in McKinley High School. And frankly, I am bored not having a certain group of misfits to tear down on a daily basis_."

" _Have I become soft? No. I am simply trying to change McKinley High from being a factory that manufactured nothing but Lima Losers and batshit psychos like Quinn Fabray, to being the origin of winners_."

Sue underlines the last word four times, concluding her inner monologue.

She needs to speak with Marley again.

* * *

Artie and Santana are making a quick trip to Rachel's house to get cleaning supplies, because the piano and the chairs and all of the instruments are in need of some good cleaning.

Kitty has just left to get coffee for everybody, leaving Marley alone with Rachel.

Marley had heard a lot about Rachel Berry, and frankly, she's a little intimidated by her.

The others had even called Marley The New Rachel at times - except for Tina, who said "New Rachel, my butt!" or something like that, days after Marley's fainting at Sectionals during the New Directions' performance of Gangnam Style, which Marley stills feels bad about. Marley wonders what made _her_ the new Rachel Berry.

"So, this Kitty girl - she's not your friend, is she?" Rachel asks, using her palm to dust the seat of one the chairs before she takes a seat.

"She is." Marley says. "I mean, she _was_. We didn't really talk at all after glee club got disbanded."

Rachel nods - Marley thinks she doesn't know how to respond to what Marley's just said - and she pulls down the sleeve of her sweater to dust the chair again.

"I know it doesn't really look like it to you, but I really cared about this glee club." Rachel mutters, taking a seat - slowly and cautiously - as she talks. "I still do."

"Why wouldn't I think you cared about glee club?" Marley asks. She's a little surprised at Rachel's words. "Everyone was always talking about how you were the star of this club and it sounded to me like you cared more than anybody."

" _Finn_ cared more than anybody." Rachel corrects Marley, and Marley nods. "Kurt and Santana were always coming back here, and I kinda just moved on without even bothering to learn anybody's names-"

"If this is about what Santana said to you when the glee club got disbanded, you're being too hard on yourself." Marley interrupts Rachel, hoping to make her feel better. Marley didn't hold any resentment towards Rachel for not knowing her or her friends' names because Rachel did not have any responsibility towards her old glee club nor towards her old high school. "You went to New York to become a star. Do you think that Julie Andrews went back to her old high school to get to know all of the new kids after she graduated?"

Rachel laughs a little and says, "She could have."

"And you came back when glee club was over and we were all saying our goodbyes, and also before that, when we were paying tribute to Finn." Marley continues, standing up, only because she was getting a little bored and lazy from sitting down for too long.

Rachel stands up too, smoothing out her skirt. "I also came to see _Grease_."

"Really?" Marley blushes in embarrassment, because knowing that _the_ Rachel Berry, whose talent both Mr. Schue and Finn had gushed over at least once a rehearsal, had watched a nobody like Marley herself performing on a stage makes Marley feel very uneasy.

"Yes." Rachel smiles. "I thought you were wonderful and that you were really well-suited for the role. And there was a lot of chemistry between you and the guy who played Danny."

Marley smiles and blushes again, but before she can thank Rachel, Rachel interrupts her.

"Although, your acting is far better suited for television and cinema than for theater." Rachel goes on. "When you're on stage, you should exaggerate your facial expressions and the tones in your speech, and make big gestures and body movements so that you can really project - oh, sorry. I didn't come here to critique a performance you did three years ago."

"It's fine." Marley shrugs. Rachel criticizing Marley's performance of Sandy doesn't really bother her - it was a long time ago and Marley was not interested in theater. "There's a lot I could learn from you, Rachel. Not only about performing, but about the world."

Rachel sighs. "I think that every thing you need to learn about this world can be learned in this room. I'm still making mistakes and I'm still growing, but I feel like I've lived a full life just by being a part of this glee club because there was always so much drama going on."

Marley chuckles and says. "That's true."

"One time when Quinn was pregnant - wait! I've got to start at the beginning." Rachel begins to talk faster, gaining more energy as she grows more and more excited. Marley finds Rachel's enthusiasm quite endearing - a little annoying, yes, as the others had described Rachel, but so much more endearing. "So Quinn Fabray fell pregnant, and she was dating Finn at the time, and she told everybody that the baby was Finn's even though it was Finn's best friend Noah who had gotten Quinn pregnant. When Finn found out - because _I_ told him - he and Noah had a huge fight right here in the middle of the choir room and we'll all stood around to watch. Quinn was in tears and Finn yelled at her and Noah, and then he quit glee club and stormed out. I think that might have been the most dramatic scene I've ever witnessed in real life."

"Finn was pretty dramatic." Marley says softly, chuckling a little.

Rachel lowers her gaze and smiles. "He was."

Marley swallows, wanting to change the subject so not to make Rachel uncomfortable.

"You talk a lot," she says, and them immediately regrets it.

"I don't mean that in a bad way-"

"No, I know I talk a lot." Rachel smiles warmly and Marley feels more at ease.

There's a sudden mischievous glint in Rachel's eye as she says, "You know, I sing a lot too."

Marley smiles widely.

"I think I'm in the mood for some good old fashioned spontaneous choir room singing," Rachel says.

Marley likes where this is going.

This is what she's been missing so much - just singing and having fun.

"It's your choir room now," is the last thing Rachel says before Marley finally starts to sing, hearing music in her head and dancing like a dork as does so.

 _ **Marley**_ _:_

 _"I've been waitin'_

 _For a day like this to come,_

 _Struck like lightnin'_

 _My heart's beating like a drum_

 _On the edge of something wonderful,"_

Marley twirls around and playfully points to Rachel.

 _ **Rachel**_ _:_

 _"Face to face with changes_

 _What's it all about?_

 _Life is crazy_

 _But I know I can work it out,"_

Rachel's voice grows higher and stronger as she sings, " _Cause' I got you to live it with me!"_

 _ **Marley and Rache**_ _l:_

 _"I feel all right, I'm gonna take on the world,_

 _Light up the stars, I've got some pages to turn,"_

Marley and Rachel both dance around the choir room, and Marley picks up a drumstick that had been laying on the floor to use as a fake microphone, as the two young women sing together.

" _I'm singing oh oh oh,_

 _Oh oh oh oh!_

 _I've got a ticket to the top of the sky,_

 _I'm comin' up, I'm on the ride of my life,_

 _I'm singing oh oh oh,_

 _Oh oh oh oh!"_

Marley drops the drumsticks to the ground as she and Rachel take each other by both hands and spin around in the middle of the room.

" _Take on the world! Take on the world!_

 _Take on the world,_

 _Take on the world! Take on the world!_ "

Rachel practically falls into a seat, making the two girls laugh a little as they continue to sing.

 **Marley and Rachel** :

" _Flyin' high_

 _I won't look down_

 _Let my fears fall to the ground,_ "

Marley feels as if she's on stage again. She can almost feel the spotlight on her, and it brings back all of the warm memories of being in glee club, and reminds her of a dream she'd once had as a little girl.

 _ **Marley**_ _:_

 _"I feel all right, I'm gonna take on the world,_

 _Light up the stars, I've got some pages to turn,_

 _I've got a ticket to the top of the sky,"_

 _I'm comin' up,_ "

Marley takes a quick breath before raising her voice. " _I'm on the ride of my life_!"

Rachel excitedly springs to her feet once more, as Marley throws her arms up in as part of her dance.

 _ **Marley and Rachel**_ :

" _I feel all right, I'm gonna take on the world,_

 _Light up the stars, I've got some pages to turn,_

 _I'm singing oh oh oh_

 _Oh oh oh oh!_

 _I've got a ticket to the top of the sky,_

 _I'm comin' up, I'm on the ride of my life,_

 _I'm singing oh oh oh_

 _Oh oh oh oh!_ "

Marley tries to catch her breath as she sings with Rachel; she hasn't really sang in a long time - not like this, at least.

 _ **Marley and Rachel:**_

 _"Take on the world! Take on the world!_

 _Take on the world,_

 _Take on the world! Take on the world!_

 _Take on the world!_ "

Marley takes a quick bow, feeling herself smiling the widest she has in a long time, as Rachel applauds the performance.

"Singing _already_?" comes Santana's voice as she walks through the door, Artie wheeling in right behind her.

* * *

"Kitty!"

Rachel has to run a little bit to keep up with Kitty's quick footsteps. Once she reaches Kitty's side, she immediately starts to talk.

"Hello, my name is Rachel Berry but I believe you already know that."

"Can I help you with something?" Kitty asks, sounding very irritated.

It is the morning of the first day of the school year, and the hallways of William McKinley High School are started to fill up with its students.

"I just thought that maybe you and I should get to know each other while we put these posters up around school." Rachel says, although it is only an excuse to talk to Kitty. "We could get more advertising done this way."

"I'm not sure that makes any sense. Seriously, what is this about?" Kitty asks, stopping in order to put up a small poster Rachel had made in order to inform students that the glee club was starting back up again.

Rachel swallows and decides to be frank with Kitty, despite being intimidated by the blonde - Rachel had heard a lot about Kitty, and not a lot of what she'd heard was particularly _good_.

"I want to know why you've been so cold, towards Marley and Artie specifically." Rachel says.

Kitty rolls her eyes. "Artie is a grade A douchebag. He wins the all of awards for the worst and most inconsiderate boyfriend in the world."

Kitty begins to walk again, and Rachel sighs in exasperation, having to follow her.

"What about Marley?" Rachel asks sternly.

Kitty doesn't say anything to answer Rachel. Instead, she asks, "Why do you even care? Last time I checked, the only conversations you were capable of having we're ones all about you."

"I'm just concerned for Marley." Rachel answers. "She doesn't need anybody dragging her down at a time like this. She's about to bring back the glee club all by herself and she has to stay strong and confident. She's noticed that something has been bothering you and it's distracting her."

Kitty groans loudly.

"What?" Rachel demands.

Kitty stops walking again and turns to face Rachel.

"Why is everybody always looking out for Marley?" she complains. "The universe is not going to implode if she gets hurt, you know. Why is everybody always making sure that nothing bad ever happens to her?"

"Oh my God." Rachel smirks, finally understanding the situation. "You're jealous."

"I am not jealous." Kitty rolls her eyes again.

She does it even more often than Santana, Rachel's noticed.

"You are _so_ jealous." Rachel gasps immediately after she speaks, and then proceeds to think out loud. "Maybe the reason why Quinn was so horrible to me was because she was jealous of me. Yes, it all makes sense down."

"Easy there." Kitty chuckles, making Rachel a little bit annoyed. "Quinn Fabray was most certainly not jealous you. You are delusional."

"But you're jealous of Marley?" Rachel asks, though she knows the answer is yes, even if Kitty denies it. "Even though she's your friend."

"Marley is _not_ my friend," Kitty says through gritted teeth.

Kitty sighs and rolls her green eyes yet _again_. "I don't understand what is so great about her."

"You know, people care about you too." Rachel tells Kitty, and it's true. She's not just saying words to make Kitty feel better. "People are jealous of you too."

"I know that." Kitty speaks with confidence and certainty, but Rachel doesn't buy it.

"Marley cares about you a lot." Rachel continues. "She's worried about you and she fears she may have done something wrong."

Kitty folds her arms and remains silent.

"Why did you come back?" Rachel asks another question, hoping Kitty's not getting too frustrated with her. "To help Marley do this, I mean."

"I didn't come back for Marley," Kitty says bitterly. "I came back for glee."

And with that, Rachel simply smiles politely and leaves Kitty alone.

* * *

"May I come in?"

Marley leans against the door frame, peering into Sue Sylvester's office nervously.

Sue groans - she already looks irritated. "Obviously if I'd had to send for you, you may come in. Now sit down before you waste any more of my time."

Marley's nervous. She may have been far too hopeful in coming back to McKinley - she now has a sneaky suspicion that Sue might decide to not allow Marley to bring back the glee club after all.

She doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, but she's heard too many bad things about Sue Sylvester, the worst being her plans to destroy glee club.

Marley walks into the office fairly slowly and takes a seat.

"I feel I've made a terrible mistake." Sue begins. Marley's eyes widen as she begins to worry. "Not in giving you the opportunity to attempt to resurrect that ghost of a glee club, but in the deal we made."

"What about that?" Marley asks, wondering if maybe Sue had decided to go a little easier on the New Directions - perhaps she'd allow Marley to keep the glee club at McKinley if they win Sectionals.

"As an alumnus of this school, you should be well aware that under my rule McKinley High School has grown to be the best high school in all of Ohio." Sue says, and Marley nods, a little too eagerly. "McKinley High does not just place - we're number one."

Oh, no. Marley can see where this is headed.

"The New Directions have to win Nationals." Sue states. "My Cheerios are the best in the country - since both cheerleading squads and show choirs are entertainers, I believe the irrespective performing skills and overall talent should be to the same standard."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." Marley snaps, standing up. "That is totally unfair!"

"How so?" Sue asks in a bitter tone. "It makes perfect sense to me. I have no patience for runner-ups since I'm nearing my forties."

Now _that_ is the most ridiculous thing Marley's ever heard.

"First of all the Cheerios is run by a coach who's had years of teaching experience," Marley argues, folding her arms. "And the Cheerios have an even bigger budget than the football team, while glee club has nothing. We're forced to dig out old costumes from storage and we're basically building this club from dust and our own seat. Not to mention the fact that everybody is always talking about the Cheerios and nobody knows that glee club is back up. How are we going to win Nationals if we can't find enough members? And how can we find twelve students willing to join the club if nobody even _knows_ that this school has a glee club?"

Sue smirks, and Marley's not sure why. It makes her much more nervous.

"You know, I underestimated you." Sue says, with a quick point of her finger. "You might just be a worthy nemesis."

"I'll tell you what," Sue continues, "I am prepared to give you a weekly pay for your services to this school - no more than the minimum wage due to your lack of a teaching degree, and you and the posse you've brought back may have about three minutes of assembly time tomorrow to spread the word about glee club."

"Really?" Marley asks, trying her hardest not to smile since that would take away from the tough air she was trying to give off. "Thank you."

But, Marley could not give up that easily.

"We need a budget." Marley demands. After all, it was only fair. "Every club has a budget, so the glee club needs one too. The same amount as the Cheerios'."

Frankly, Marley does not know how big the Cheerios' budget is, but she'd heard from Blaine that it was huge. Maybe she is getting greedy, but she needs to stand her ground.

"Forty percent." Sue stands up, and glares down at Marley.

"Eighty." Marley suggests. She knows it's going to get lower, but she's playing hardball.

"Sixty." Sue growls.

Sixty percent of a big budget does not sound too bad, but Marley thinks for a moment. She needs a band.

"Actually, we'll take forty if you hire the glee club a band."

It's Sue's turn to think.

The older woman holds out her hand and says, "Deal."

Marley grins and shakes Sue's hand - a little too eagerly.

"Thank you so much!" Marley says with the utmost sincerity. "We won't let you down."

Maybe Marley is being too optimistic, but she feels like the Mew Directions - despite not having any members as of yet - can and will win Nationals.

She heads out of Sue's office, pulling out her cellphone from the back pocket of her jeans to text the others to meet her in the choir room.

As she's walking out the door, Marley hears an aggravated Sue mutter, "Damn your ravishingly angelic good looks!"

Marley feels fantastic.

* * *

"Hold up," Artie says in shock. "Sue actually _agreed_ to all of this? To giving glee a budget and getting a band and everything?"

"Yes." Marley says with a big smile. "Why are you all so surprised? She was always so sweet and caring, deep down? Do you know that she's responsible for me recovering from my eating disorder? She gave my mom the money to send me to therapy."

Marley's testament to Sue was replied to with a bunch of groans and scoffs.

"Sue Sylvester is the biggest bitch I have ever met." Santana states, sounding irritable. "I do not believe for a second that any of this is genuine. She must have some ulterior motive."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Brown Regina George here is probably right." Kitty says, earning a glare from Santana, as well as some questioning looks from Rachel and Artie for her racist jab.

"I say you take what she throws at you and run with it." Rachel says, using grand hand gestures as she speaks. "You've got to be opportunistic if you want to keep the glee club around."

Marley nods. "That's why I'm going to do."

"So, you're going down and you're taking this club down with you?" Santana asks rhetorically, her question topped off with an eye roll.

Marley ignores what Santana's said and asks, "So, Sue has given us three minutes of tomorrow's assembly to advertise the glee club to the school, and I'm thinking we could do a performance."

"Don't Stop Believing!" Rachel suggests excitedly. "It's our signature number."

"It not _our_ signature number." Kitty retorts, gesturing to Marley and herself.

"How about something new and upbeat and fun?" Artie suggests. "More people will probably sign up if we do something that's in?"

"That's what I was thinking." Marley agrees.

"Are you sure Sue is going to be okay with a _performance_?" Santana asks, being her cynical self.

Marley doesn't know the answer to her question, but she'd assumed that she has the freedom to do whatever she wants with her three minutes.

"I've got the music to Don't Stop Believing on CD." Rachel says. "I could sing the lead and Artie and Santana should be in the front so that all the minorities can see how diverse and accepting glee club is."

"Actually, we're going with something more modern." Marley tells Rachel gently. "You know, it's all about getting people to want to sign up, since nobody has yet."

" _Two_ people have signed up already." Rachel says. Marley's quite surprised, but she feels more at ease knowing that two students had signed up for glee club all on their own.

"Right, Santana?" Rachel looks at the Latina woman.

"Yeah." Santana nods. "An Emily Lee - although, she seems really timid so I don't know how she's going to perform-"

"She was timid because Santana was trying to get her to sing in the middle of the hallway." Rachel interrupts Santana.

" _And_ some obnoxiously flirtatious little Casanova." Santana ignores Rachel. "And Rachel and I also met this Jewish girl who said she's considering joining glee, but she has to make sure it doesn't clash with anything on her year's schedule."

Before Marley can respond in excitement of kids wanting to join glee club, Rachel speaks, ecstatically. "She's Jewish, incredibly ambitious and seems to have some insane organizational skills. She's like a mini me."

"Don't go claiming 2.0s, Berry." Santana responds. "I can tell that she's going to be the Santana Lopez-esque alpha bitch of this glee club."

"How can somebody be like both of you at the same time?" Artie asks, looking at Rachel and Santana in confusion.

"Must be one annoying girl." Kitty snarks softly, picking at her nails.

"Can we just get to deciding our song for the assembly tomorrow?" Marley asks. "We only have a day to prepare..."

"I'm kind of hungry." Artie complains. "Can't we take a lunch break and then come back?"

"Okay." Marley sighs.

* * *

Kitty says she's not hungry and hangs around the choir room instead heading out to good ole BreadstiX with the others.

Marley tells Artie to bring her back a slice of pizza or two, and stays behind too, because she wants to talk to Kitty. She's wanted to since their reunion a few days ago, but she'd never gotten the chance until now.

Marley wants to know why Kitty's been so moody, and why she's been so cold towards Marley. She's been especially cold towards Artie too, but that's none of Marley's business.

Marley watches Kitty from just outside the choir room.

Kitty walks around slowly with her arms folded tightly against her torso, looking around the room. She seems to be taking it all in.

Kitty must have missed glee club just as much as Marley had.

Marley walks into the choir room. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

"I'm worried that there are people stupid enough to be willing to leave our country in the hands of Donald Trump." Kitty states flatly.

Marley chuckles softly.

"You just seem mad at me." she tells Kitty.

Kitty stops her wandering around and looks at Marley. "I am."

Marley feels like she's been sent straight back to sophomore year, when Kitty hated her for no reason at all.

"Did Rachel talk to you?" Kitty asks. "Did you send her to talk to me in the first place?"

"No." Marley lies. The honest answer was yes to both questions.

Marley was especially hurt by Rachel bluntly telling her that Kitty had insisted that they were not friends. Marley remembers forgiving Kitty for what she'd done to her so easily, and the two had grown closer from there.

Not BFF close, but they were definitely friends.

"She was probably just looking out for you then." Kitty says. "Nobody ever wants you to get hurt."

Is that what this is about?

"We're friends, right?" Marley asks.

Kitty scoffs. "Are we? Because the last time I checked, you were too afraid to make eye contact with me."

"We were friends in glee club-"

"That was a long time ago." Kitty states, bitterness in her voice. "And after glee club was gone, you and Jake and Ryder and Unique never, ever spoke to me. If we were such great friends, why was it so easy for you guys to forget about me?"

Marley feels guilty. She hates this feeling; its almost physical, as if her stomach is twisting into knots. She hates, more than anything, being responsible for somebody else's pain.

Kitty was speaking the truth - Marley had only remained close with Unique after glee was over. She talked to Jake and Ryder on occasion, and those moments were nice. The upperclassmen seemed to have forgotten about the rest of them after they'd graduated, which would explain Kitty's hostility towards Artie, seeing as the two were dating at the time.

"Being in glee club was the only real, genuine fun I had." Kitty confesses. "You guys were the only true friends I had. Do you have any idea what it felt like when all of that was taken away?"

Marley _does_ know, likely to an extent. She never actually realized how much glee club meant to Kitty, though.

"We just thought that you wouldn't-"

Kitty interrupts Marley, glaring at her coldly. "I know what you guys thought about me."

Marley swallows and takes a few steps closer to Kitty. She's not sure how to react, since she's never seen Kitty this vulnerable, except during the shooting.

"We were all wrong about you." Marley says softly. "I am not going to try to make excuses for assuming that you'd not want to be friends with us anymore, because I know it was wrong. But I'm really sorry, Kitty."

Marley isn't sure what else to say, and she doesn't think that Kitty's ever going to be her friend again, but she feels she kind of deserves it.

A very selfish part of Marley wants to remind Kitty that Marley had forgiven her for tricking her into developing an eating disorder, and that Marley had befriended Kitty despite what Kitty had done to her, but that would only make Marley feel like an even crappier human being.

"You don't have to be my friend again. You don't even have to forgive me." Marley says, and she means it. "I just hope you believe that I really am very sorry."

Kitty nods and rests her hands on her hips. She doesn't look sad anymore. She looks like the same old badass, sassy Kitty and Marley likes that, being such a sentimental softy.

"I want you to sing lead at the assembly tomorrow." Marley says with a warm smile.

Kitty shakes her head. "Please don't pity me."

"I'm not doing this out of pity." Marley said, even though she kind of was. "I just know a great song that the the students will enjoy and your voice is perfect for it."

Kitty sighs and then murmurs a soft, "Okay."

Kitty smiles, just barely. Her smile is nowhere near as big as the one Marley is wearing, but it's there, and that's what counts.

* * *

Kitty is standing center stage, behind the closed curtains of the small stage in the gym.

Her and the other alumni are arranged in a 'W' styled pattern. A few steps behind Kitty on her far right is Marley, and in line with Marley on Kitty's far left is Santana. A few steps in front of Kitty and between her and Marley is Artie, who is standing in line with Rachel, placed between Kitty and Santana.

A few dorky kids are in the wings - a grossly overweight guy waiting to open the curtains and an eerily pale boy who was waiting to press play on the track. McKinley's students get uglier each year.

Kitty makes a mental note to herself to stop being so superficial - Jesus is not going to allow her into heaven if she keeps up a judgy, shallow attitude.

"And finally, we have reached the final and most irrelevant part of our assembly." Kitty hears Sue's obnoxious voice talking into the microphone. "You all may leave if you want to - in fact, I highly recommend leaving. Allow me to introduce a bunch of washed up, directionless Lima Losers who, not too long ago, were students at this very school, otherwise known as former members of our William McKinley High School's glee club, the New Directions."

There isn't much applause when Sue finishes, and Kitty is sure she can hear kids literally shuffling to leave the assembly.

Marley must have given those geeky kids a nod, as the curtains are now opening and the track begins to play.

 _ **Kitty** :_

 _"You're the light, you're the night_

 _You're the color of my blood,_

 _You're the cure, you're the pain_

 _You're the only thing I wanna touch,_

 _Never knew that it could mean so much,_

 _So much,"_

Kitty takes a few steps forward, keeping up with the beat of the track, continuing her soft singing.

" _You're the fear, I don't care_

 _'Cause I've never been so high,_

 _Follow me to the dark_

 _Let me take you past our satellites,_

 _You can see the world you brought to life,_

 _To life,_ "

Marley and Artie trade places, with Artie wheeling further back so that Marley can stand closer to Kitty as they both sing together, " _So love me like you do,_

 _La la love me like you do,_

 _Love me like you do,_

 _La la love me like you do,_

 _Touch me like you do,_

 _Ta ta touch me like you do,"_

Kitty steps forward yet again to sing by herself, " _What are you waiting for?_ "

When a stronger beat kicks in, the group begins their released, watered down choreography, as they march into a straight line and all turn to face their left.

 _ **Kitty** :_

 _"Fading in, fading out_

 _On the edge of paradise,_

 _Every inch of your skin is a holy grail I've got to find,_

 _Only you can set my heart on fire,_

 _On fire,"_

Kitty has missed this so much. The feeling of being on stage, performing alongside her friends, and just having so much fun.

 _ **Kitty** :_

 _"Yeah, I'll let you set the pace_

 _'Cause I'm not thinking straight,_

 _My head spinning around I can't see clear no more,_

 _What are you waiting for?_ "

Kitty smiles as she turns around, Marley and Santana sliding into positions more towards the front, as the group begins to dance, moving their bodies back and forth in a swaying motion while doing simple steps with their feet - Artie, of course, was rolling back and forth.

With Kitty on lead vocals, they all sing together:

" _Love me like you do,_

 _La la love me like you do_

 _Love me like you do,_

 _La la love me like you do_

 _Touch me like you do,_

 _Ta ta touch me like you do,_ "

Kitty belts a more powerful, " _What are you waiting for?_ "

Rachel and Artie movie the front, in places where Kitty, Marley and Santana can still be seen, as Santana spins to begin a sort of Mexican wave, with Rachel spinning next, then Kitty, Artie and finally, Marley.

 _ **Kitty with Marley, Rachel, Santana and Artie** :_

 _"Love me like you do,_

 _La la love me like you do_

 _Love me like you do,_

 _La la love me like you do_

 _Touch me like you do,_

 _Ta ta touch me like you do,"_

Kitty finishes as they stop dancing and return to their original positions, " _What are you waiting for?"_

Kitty might be dreaming, but she doesn't think she's heard that much applause in all of her life. Not for _her_ , at least.

And it feels incredible.

* * *

The performance at the assembly yesterday had gone much better than Marley had anticipated.

Kitty and Marley still aren't talking too much, but even though she hasn't said it out loud, Marley thinks that Kitty has forgiven her.

Marley has been enjoying this week with the other alumni, even if they haven't been getting along perfectly, and she's sad that they're all heading back to their respective lives in New York and at law school, but tomorrow is Friday.

Tomorrow is the auditions for glee club, and Marley is excited for this journey to finally truly begin.

She's walking down the hallway, heading to check out the sign-up sheet.

"Hey!" a very attractive African-American woman greets Marley with a warm smile.

"Hello."

"You're the glee club director, right?" the young woman asks, still smiling brightly. "That was an awesome performance. Yesterday's assembly, I mean."

"Thank you." Marley smiles. "I'm Marley, by the way. Marley Rose."

"Janelle Taylor." the woman says. "I'm the new English teacher."

"You look really young to be a teacher." Marley tells Janelle, thinking out loud.

Janelle chuckles. "I just graduated. Speak for yourself, though. You look like you just got out of high school."

"I did." Marley nods. "I was actually a student here."

"Awesome." Janelle replies. "Anyway, I'd love to chat, _really_ , but I've got a class to teach. Good luck on your glee club, Marley."

"Thanks." Marley smiles sweetly as Janelle walks past her.

Janelle seems nice and friendly, and Marley is glad that she might be able to befriend some staff members - sitting all alone in the the staff cafeteria had seemed like a scary thought to Marley.

Marley continues to walk towards to notices, and when she reaches the board, the biggest smile immediately breaks out onto her face as she reads the names written on the sheet to sign up for glee club.

 _ **Sign Up for Glee Club**_

 _ **Auditions on Friday, 3pm, in the auditorium**_

 _Emily Lee_

 _Lincoln Foster_

 _Francesca Cavallini_

 _Landon Holt_

 _Joseph Dooley_

 _Sara Castillo_

 _Tate Burnett_

 _Zara Nasser_

 _Sean Yamazaki_

Nine sign-ups? Not bad at all.

Marley skips away with a smile, having a good feeling that the year ahead will be a great one.

* * *

 **Songs featured:**

 **Take on the World** by Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter - sung by Marley Rose and Rachel Berry.

 **Love Me Like You Do** by Ellie Goulding - sung by Kitty Wilde with Marley Rose, Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez and Artie Abrams.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

 **Strangers Waiting**

* * *

 ** _A/N: I am so, so sorry as to how late this chapter is. On top of being a generally busy person, with working to take care of myself as well as others while being a full-time student, I am a perfectionist and I had written and rewritten this chapter over and over again because I wasn't happy with the flow of it. I'm going to try really hard to update more than once a year from now on._**

 ** _A/A/N: Before you guys get to reading this chapter, erase any memories of the spoilers I'd previously posted on Tumblr (or might have told you of via PM). I've scrapped, changed and rearranged storylines, as I believe fleshing them out instead of diving in as I'd originally planned would make for a better written story, as well as better portrayed characters. I'd also love for you guys to let me know your song requests, ideas as to where things could go and interpretations about storylines and characters as we go along, because I'd enjoy making this story as interactive as possible._**

 ** _A3/N: The title of this chapter was taken from the song_ Don't Stop Believing _by Journey._**

 ** _A4/_** ** _N: This chapter takes place during the same week as chapter one, except this time, we're following the students rather than the alumni. Link's and Halley's scenes are the longest, I think, Zara's is incredibly short (although she does show up in two other scenes to compensate) and everybody else's are more or less the same length. I am also going to skip the auditions altogether, so the next chapter begins at the first glee club meeting. Hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

 **Side characters:**

Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale)

Harvey Akerman (Zachary Gordon)

Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)

Aubrey Emerson (Katie Findlay)

Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera)

Jordan Milton (Noah Gray-Cabey)

Emma Schuester (Jayma Mays)

Kitty Wilde (Becca Tobin)

* * *

It should not come as a surprise that the first student to be slushied this year is a pint-sized, preppy-looking freshman girl.

Emily Olivia Lee had been looking forward to the day she enters high school for years. For her, the day she enters high school is pretty different to the day she entered middle school, or elementary school, or even puberty. Today marks the day Emily is officially no longer a child. The next four years are a period of freedom with no responsibility; high school is the grey area between childhood and adulthood, and for a caged bird who's been guarded and hidden from the wonders of world by her overprotective older sister, Emily could not have been be more excited.

She was in the process of signing up for all of the after-school clubs she plans to join. In purple, glittery ink, Emily neatly jotted her name down on several sign-up sheets - the school newspaper, student council (although, with her being a freshman, being accepted is a long-shot), the culinary club, the AV club and drama club - and its when she was scanning the lists to see whether or not this school has a Renaissance club when she spotted the sheet for glee club.

If she'd known this school had a glee club, she would have been rehearsing for her audition all summer. Being a lover of musicals and performing, Emily decided to sign up, mentally making a note to remind herself that auditions are on Friday afternoon in the auditorium.

Emily blames the two young women she'd run into for her getting slushied. If she'd skipped off to her next class, that horrible guy would have hit somebody else.

The first - the shorter one - had tapped her friend of long, black hair on her shoulder and let out an excited shriek. "Santana, look!"

"Hello! My name is Rachel Berry." the petite girl had said with loads of enthusiasm. "I see you've signed up for our glee club. Do you know what song you're going to be singing for your audition?"

"Give her a break, Berry. She _just_ signed up." her friend - Santana - interrupted, turning to Emily. "So you can sing?"

Emily nodded.

"So, sing us something." Santana smirked and Emily felt her palms become clammy.

"I... uh..."

Emily wasn't sure what had happened to her in that moment. She usually rambles when she's nervous; she must have gotten the hallway equivalent of stage fright.

"Come on." Santana rolled her eyes in annoyance. "How are you going to join a singing club when you can't even talk?"

All Emily heard was a somewhat stern "Santana," from the Berry girl as she turned on her heel to _run_. Yes. She ran away like a scared little girl - like some kind of _freak_ who'd never met another human being before - and that's how she ended up running past the locker of that horrible jock who had just tossed a slushie in her face.

In the middle of a crowded hallway, she stands shivering, the red dye of the slushie staining her yellow sundress. Almost all five feet and one inch of her seemed to be drench in icicles and sticky liquid, her long black waves, highlighted with streaks of a caramel color, heavy, soaked and clinging to her head. Blinking to prevent the tears from escaping her brown eyes, Emily lets out a mere squeak in an attempt to call out her offender.

The sound that escapes her mouth is met with a loud, obnoxious eruption of laughs. Emily hurries off to the nearest bathroom, the soles of her Mary Janes _clack-clack-_ _clacking_ against the floor, thinking about how right her sister was. High school is horrible, and Emily _is_ too much of a timid, silly child to be able to handle it.

* * *

"Be careful" is a phrase often used to express concern.

A person who warns somebody else to be careful is basically saying, "I care about you and I don't want you getting hurt," neatly wrapping their care up in the package of an order, just so that they don't look like a total softy.

Lincoln Josiah Foster would love to receive the phrase as an expression of care rather than an insult.

Link wonders how many more times he's got to roll his eyes for his brother Blaze to finally catch that Link is _so over_ this lecture. He received it this morning, and he's receiving it right now after Blaze caught him flirting with a few Cheerios.

Link knows this speech by-heart: _Be careful. Don't hurt anybody. Stop flirting so much. You're an awful person who can only ever break hearts._

Okay, so Blaze might not say it in those _exact_ words but it's all Link hears. Maybe he's being a bit too sensitive, but being told you're very capable of hurting people by your own brother hurts a lot. And it's even more worrying considering the possibility that Blaze might be right, that Link _is_ a bad guy despite what his Nice Guy charm says.

"Okay, okay." Link holds up his hands in defense. "I get it. I'm a monster."

"That's not-"

"I don't _mean_ to hurt anybody." Link defends, interrupting Blaze once again. "Do you know how many high school girls hate themselves because they feel as though nobody notices them? Do you have any idea how great it feels to say one simple, flattering thing and make all of that insecurity go away, even if just for a moment? I'm not going to deny myself the pleasure of helping pretty, insecure girls love themselves, Blaze."

"Good intentions or not, you flirt too much, and you lead people on." Blaze states flatly, as if he doesn't care about how Link might take it.

Vienna, a family friend, who's been quietly swaying on her feet during Blaze's lecture finally pipes up. "Give him a break, Blaze. Everybody flirts with everybody, almost. It's nothing serious."

"Thank you." Link tells her, although his tone is more annoyed than grateful. "I'm gonna go check out what clubs this school's got before my next class, so..."

Blaze nods and heads off in a different direction, while Vienna sticks with Link as they walk down the halls.

"He's so annoying." Link complains. He's irritated and he needs to vent, so he's grateful that Vienna's here. She might not be great at knowing what to say to make Link feel better, but she's a great listener, and that's what counts. Sometimes a person just needs somebody to listen to them.

"He's just looking out for you."

"He's not. He's looking out for everybody else because he thinks I'm a jerk." Link realizes he's not sure where he's headed. "Where do I sign up for stuff?"

Vienna points down the hallway to somewhere pretty vague. "Down there."

"And he doesn't think that. He's just bad at expressing himself." she continues as if her observation of Blaze is as clear as day. "You're almost there. You'll see a big, colorful board of lists and shit pinned onto it on your right."

"Thanks." Link replies, running his hand through his hair. "Where's your friend?"

"Tate?" Vienna checks. "I don't know. Probably off sassing Frankie Cavallini somewhere, they were at each other's throats in English. Why?"

"Just wondering what you're still doing with me, that's all." He peers straight ahead when he hears a loud roar of laughter, and sees that it's coming from a crowd of jocks.

"Ooh, looks like somebody just got slushied." Vienna mumbles in annoyance, and Link notices her stopping her walking. "My locker's here. See you later, okay?"

"Bye." Link says, wondering what "got slushied" means and why neither Vienna nor Blaze had ever explained this to him.

He is almost knocked over by somebody who run past him, face covered in- is that slushie? Wait, is that Emily Lee?

"Emily?" Link checks, but by then she's ran too far off in the opposite direction to hear him.

Side-stepping the puddle of cherry slushie and picking up pace, Link eventually reaches the big, colorful board and while rummaging through his backpack for a pen, a petite, very pretty young woman approaches him.

"Hello." she smiles widely as she's joined by a taller, equally beautiful woman about her age.

"Good morning." Link greets with a smile, nodding at the taller girl afterwards.

"If you're interested in music and performing, I'd like to inform you that this school has just re-started its old glee club." the girl continues, still smiling, as if she's rehearsed this speech in the mirror a thousand times. "I encourage you to sign up. It could be a great way to meet new friends and can help pave the way for a future in the arts."

The taller girl groans, but Link _is_ interested. Everybody who knows Link knows how sweet and intelligent he is, but his musical gifts are talents he very rarely gets the opportunity to show off.

"Definitely. It sounds great." he answers, making the smaller girl smile wider, as the taller one looks relieved. "Do either of you happen to run the glee club?"

Link writes his name on the sheet for the glee club - right beneath Emily's - and continues to scribble his name down on the lists for tutoring, volunteering and debate.

"No, no. We're just helping a friend." the short one says as the taller girl nods. "We were members of the club once, and now we're on our way to becoming legendary performers."

"Of course." Link smiles. "It'd be a waste for beautiful women like yourselves to spend your lives working behind closed walls."

"Congratulations, little guy." the taller woman smirks. "You've made me even gayer."

* * *

There isn't anything wrong with knowing you're beautiful.

If Francesca Maya Cavallini chooses to show off her bangin' body in a pair of skin-tight booty shorts and a crop top - okay, so maybe it _is_ more of a bandeau - and to enhance her striking features with a careful contour routine, she should not be sent to the principal's office. This is totally unfair.

Frankie is gorgeous. _Everybody_ knows that she is gorgeous. In fact, she probably wouldn't be so popular if it weren't for how stunning she is (well, that, and her family's money). Sure, she's got a friendly, charming personality, but nobody cares about personality. People like that Frankie is nice to look at, and Frankie enjoys being liked, even if it is just for her looks.

A little bit above average in height for a girl, Frankie's toned, endlessly long legs appear as if to be making up almost all of her five feet and six inches of height thanks to her four-inch high heels. Her large, rounded hazel eyes are enhanced with winged eyeliner and are even more prominent against her lightly golden skin tone. With a long, slender neck, a fit and toned yet slightly curvaceous hourglass figure and long curls of black hair cascading down her back in nicely textured layers, Frankie looks like a supermodel.

Anyone who's _that_ beautiful shouldn't have to follow a dress code.

Principal Sylvester had just given Frankie a twenty-minute long lecture on how school is a place of learning and not a fashion show, _blah, blah, blah_... Frankie, however, is still certain that dress codes are only enforced so that people who don't like like Frankie don't get insecure when they see people who do look like Frankie. As if drabbing Frankie down would make her any less gorgeous.

She gets off with a warning, because Principal Sylvester wouldn't dare to punish a girl whose parents are constantly making donations to the school's budgets.

She struts out of the office as if she's walking down a runway, and doesn't care to change her clothing because the day is almost over anyway. Tomorrow, maybe, she'll try to wear a little more clothing and a little less makeup.

"Francesca!" comes the cheerful, distinctive voice of Mrs. Schuester, the school's guidance counselor.

"Mrs. S," Frankie begins. "I already told you to call me Frankie. It's less work on the mouth."

"I've been looking for you." Mrs. S says. She's so happy that she's practically dancing, causing her ginger hair to bounce against her shoulders - on a hideous yellow shirt.

"Yes?" Frankie smiles.

"An old student of mine is restarting the school's glee club and I think it'd be great if you joined." Mrs. S suggests. "You could be a Gleek. It'll be fun."

Frankie stares into the far left for a moment, as she's not sure what Mrs. S is talking about, and then she decides that Glee is probably the country she and her parents took a trip to three summers ago.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. S." Frankie shakes her head. "I can't. I'm Italian."

Mrs. S looks confused for a moment, still smiling, and says, "No, it's a singing club. Remember how you told me that as a child you took singing and dancing classes? You'd be an asset to the club and I think it would be good for you, too."

"Yeah, it sounds like fun." Frankie thinks out loud. "I'll totally sign up."

"Really? That's great!" Mrs. S exclaims. "I think it would be a really good way for you to make some friends, and-"

"I have friends." Frankie says, a little offended.

"Frankie," Mrs. S says slowly. "Just because so many kids show up to every party you throw and you've got so many Instagram followers doesn't make any of those people your friends."

"Sure, it does!" Frankie smiles. "We hang out, gossip, laugh together, get drunk together, and all sorts of other things friends do."

Mrs. S keeps staring at Frankie weirdly, and Frankie breaks the silence by saying, "So, I'm gonna go..."

Mrs. S smiles softly and nods.

"...sign up for glee club." Frankie finishes, and she turns around and heads off to do just that, strutting down the hallway, showing off her perfectly toned stems.

* * *

Landon Jonah Holt has a theory. Everybody's best quality is also their worst.

He's always liked being a bit flaky and flighty. It makes him unafraid to try new things, and flexible. He doesn't have any plans that are set in stone, so he's easygoing and content to take things as they come. Living an easy, changeable, unpredictable life is great for Landon.

But, he's also indecisive and pretty much clueless as to where he wants to end up. All Landon sees are his options. He could be a teacher, or a poet, or a painter, or a lawyer, or an actor, or a soccer player... As a senior, it's almost as if Landon has no choice but to start thinking of his future. The problem is that he doesn't _want_ to make a decision. He wants to be able to do everything he's passionate about, rather than just pick one of those things.

Landon can see it: his future is doomed. He's going to go to culinary school for a semester and then drop out, and then he's going to work at McDonald's and eventually quit, and so forth. He's going to jump from one thing to the next and end up living in a box underneath a bridge somewhere.

He spots Marley Rose, who he's known for years thanks to being in the poetry club with her, as he's walking down the halls, and applies his theory.

Marley's best and worst quality? Her independence. It makes her genuine and honest and brave. It makes her true to herself, which is very important to Landon - in fact, he even had a crush on her at some point last year, upon realizing how fearless she is in asserting who she is. But, it also makes her stubborn, a bit aggressive, and surprisingly uncompromising for a girl who seems so sweet.

Wait a minute - Marley Rose? She graduated last year. What is she doing here?

Out of curiosity, Landon turns around and marches up to where Marley is, just to find out how she's doing after high school.

"Hey, Marley." he says rather quietly and curiously once he reaches her. She's leaning against some kid's locker, with a clipboard in her hands and looks up. "What are you doing here?"

"Landon!" Marley smiles widely, standing on her toes to give him a quick hug. "How's it going?"

"Uh, great." he groans, as her clipboard is pressing against his chest. Landon sighs in relief when she pulls away, and gently rubs his chest.

"Sorry." Marley says. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you. I'm the new glee club director!"

"Glee club?" Landon raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah. We have a glee club again." Marley grins even more widely. "I was hoping that you'd join, you know, since you said you could play the drums and the piano..."

"I can sing, too." he states.

"Yeah, and it's a totally chilled club that's all about having fun." Marley continues. "You'll love it. So, what do you say?"

Landon pauses for a moment.

If glee club is as _chilled_ as Marley claims it is then it definitely sounds like fun. And hey, maybe glee club will help Landon make a decision. Maybe it'll help him realize that the path he's meant to follow is that of music, or that music isn't for him at all.

"Sure." Landon decides.

Marley smiles again. "Thank you! And try to get the word around, if you don't mind."

"Sure. So, why are you back here?" Landon asks. He knows he's prying but he doesn't think Marley minds. "I thought you were going to go to LA, become a star..."

"Oh, um... I... _couldn't_?" Marley answers with uncertainty. Landon thinks he knows what she means - that she couldn't afford to leave - so he decides to drop the topic.

Marley clears her throat. "So, I'll see you at auditions? On Friday?"

"Yeah." Landon nods, and heads off to sign up for glee club like he promised, nearly walking into one Frankie Cavallini on the way there.

 _Her_ best and worst quality? That brilliant, insincere charm.

* * *

Being in love is hard, especially when it's with a girl who is way, _way_ out of your league. But, boy, is it worth it!

Joseph Zander Dooley is a man scorned. Or a boy scorned. Whatever.

Yes, it hurts when you are absolutely crazy about somebody and that somebody doesn't even seem to be able to tolerate you most of the time, but when a girl is _that_ beautiful, _that_ smart, _that_ honest, _that_ funny and, well, just so unbelievably perfect, you're just lucky to know her and to love her. And you're probably even luckier if she knows how much you love her.

Halley Akerman is a goddess, and the rest of the student body has got to be made up of meat-headed imbeciles to not notice that.

"Stop asking me about my sister." Harvey, Halley's twin brother and Joey's close friend since elementary school, scolds.

Joey sighs. He can't help it; Halley is almost all of what he thinks about next to the new _Star Wars_ movie that's about to come out later this year.

"I haven't seen her since last year." Joey explains. "I just need to know if she's off conducting research on embryonic stem cells at CalTech or something."

Harvey groans and says, "Maybe we should start to pretend that she _is_."

Joey makes a mental note to stop talking about Halley so much. He's never been all that great at being able to tell when he's bugging people, but Harvey seems irritated by the constant mentioning of his sister, and Joey's afraid that he might come across as obsessed.

"Hi."

Joey and Harvey look downwards to where the voice is coming from. A boy in a wheelchair had just approached them.

"I'm Artie, an alumnus of this school." the guy begins. "I'm looking to recruit members for this school's newly rebooted glee club, the New Directions."

"We're not interested." Harvey sniffs, although Joey kind of _is_.

"Like a singing club?" Joey asks. "It sounds like fun."

Joey hears Harvey groan again, but Artie continues. "It is. Did you know that music not only boosts your mood, but it's also a great stress reliever and does wonders for your mental health? The glee club is also a place of harmony, teamwork and healthy competition, and it builds a good foundation for a career in the performing arts."

"You totally rehearsed that." Harvey deadpans.

Joey simply smiles and says, "Yeah, that sounds great." He's not interested in a career in performing but glee club sounds like a lot of fun, and Joey could use more fun in his life.

"See you at auditions." Artie nods, and wheels away.

"You know, joining that kind of club is a big mistake, especially for guys like us." Harvey states. "You're going to be greeted with a slushie facial every day."

"No, I won't." Joey shakes his head. After all, why would he? Glee club sounds cool; why would anybody make fun of a singing group?

"And I don't see why joining a fun club would be especially hard on guys like us, unless the world hates cool, smart guys who don't waste time obsessing over the circumference of their biceps."

"Oh, boy." Harvey sighs at Joey's response. Joey knows that Harvey tends to think of him as delusional, but Joey doesn't understand why Harvey is under the impression that being a nerd would make somebody an easy target for bullying. It makes _no_ sense - why would Joey's future gardener shove him into a locker _knowing_ that he'll most likely work for him some day?

"I'm gonna go sign up for glee club before I forget." Joey informs his friend. "See you in chem."

"Yep."

* * *

It isn't that bad, being the new girl.

Sara Marilena Castillo feels perfectly fine. Sure, she may not have any friends in this state and she may have gotten lost at least six times within the first two days, but her mama totally exaggerated how much this is going to suck.

The only problem is meeting new people. After seeing the performance done to promote the school's new glee club at the assembly today, Sara decides to sign up for the New Directions immediately. This would totally solve her only problem.

Immediately after the assembly, Sara signs up for glee club.

"Can I borrow your pen?" asks a small, pre-teen-looking girl who appeared on Sara's left as if from thin air.

Sara quickly scribbles down the last few letters of her surname and says, "Sure," handing the girl her pen.

The girl accepts it, and seemingly reluctantly, she places its tip on the first name of the list: Emily Lee. She then raises the pen from the paper, and places it on the same spot. After a couple of seconds of impatiently tapping her foot, Sara comes to the conclusion that this girl is the Emily Lee on the sheet and she is deciding whether or not to scratch her name out.

Sara decides to put all of her shyness and nervousness aside - Emily is only a harmless little girl, after all - because she's only got one pen and she's frankly, she's getting impatient. "So, um... Maybe you should sleep on this." she suggests.

Emily chuckles and hands Sara her pen without drawing a line through her name. "Sorry. I was just... on the fence about this, knowing that we have to audition and all."

"It's okay." Sara says. "Although, you probably shouldn't have signed up for something that you have to audition for knowing that you're nervous about auditioning."

"I wasn't nervous at the time." Emily defends. "I met this woman who tried to get me to audition right here, in the hallway, and I got freaked out and ran away, so now I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this."

Emily pauses for a moment and then adds, "Then I got slushied."

Sara nods, and she's not sure what to say, but goes with, "I mean, if you enjoy singing or performing or whatever I don't see why one bad experience should keep you from doing that kinda stuff."

Sara internally groans at how inarticulate she can be.

Emily doesn't seem to mind, though, and nods. "I guess you're right."

"I'm Sara, by the way." Sara holds out her hand, introducing herself.

Emily shakes Sara's hand in response. "Emily."

"I can see that." Sara says, gesturing to the sign up sheet.

"So, do you know where Mr. Jameson's classroom is?" Emily asks. "Sorry. I'm a freshman, so I'm still finding my way around."

"I don't." Sara says. "I'm new here so I'm in the same boat as you. But, if you happen to know where Mr. Rollins' class is-"

"I don't. Sorry."

"Guess we're stuck wandering around, then." Sara sighs.

Emily chuckles. "Guess we are."

It might be too soon to judge, but Sara thinks she likes Emily, enough to not mind being stuck wandering empty halls trying to find classrooms with. She seems sweet, and even though the conversation she'd just had with her was meaningless, she enjoyed it and was happy to have skipped the small talk and awkward interview-like introductions.

Sara decides that she was right. Glee club _is_ going to help her meet new friends.

* * *

"Tate."

"Kitty?"

Tate Alan Burnett almost does not recognize Kitty Wilde out of her Cheerios uniform.

"What are you doing here?" he asks her, almost rudely. Frankly, he's just wondering why anyone would come back to their old high school just months after graduation.

"I've been looking for you." she says, folding her arms and looking up at Tate. "You need to sign up for glee club."

"Was that _you_ singing at assembly?" Tate realizes. "I knew that there was something familiar in that voice."

"Great. So that's a yes?" Kitty raises an eyebrow. She seems moodier than usual, which is going to make Tate himself moodier than usual, so he follows her lead hoping to cut this conversation short.

"Sure."

Tate was planning to join glee club anyway. Sure, he may be a Cheerio and a track star and one of the best swimmers in school, but Tate _loves_ music. It's his thing.

In a family of academic overachievers, each with a variety of both athletic and artistic talents, it's easy to get lost when you're completely average. Sure, Tate's got his own athletic strengths and his grades aren't half-bad, but music is probably the only thing he stands out in amongst his siblings.

Finally, this dumbass school has got something just for Tate. Thank God he doesn't have to share this with Bryn, who joined every other team Tate was on as a freshman last year and outshone him in every field she could.

Maybe he's a little bit competitive, but he really is tired of feeling like the dumb one next to his siblings.

"That was a quick answer." Kitty says, as if Tate answering quickly is insult enough.

"Don't you have a sorority to get kicked out of, Kitty?" Tate questions. He's not _trying_ to rile her up, he's just annoyed. "Or are you just _really_ happy to embrace this whole Lima Loser thing?"

"Don't get cocky, King Kong." Kitty rolls her eyes, making a jab at Tate's height. "In a few years, you'll be exactly where I am, busting your ass to save a stupid club you're no longer in. And I'm in law school, just F.Y.I."

"Sleeping with your judge isn't going to win you any cases." he continues to tease her. He's never really liked Kitty. He's never disliked her either, but she's always been a bit annoying, in Tate's opinion.

"Wouldn't hurt to try." Kitty responds in sarcasm, turning around to walk away without saying anything else.

Tate walks in the opposite direction.

"V!" he calls out his friend the second he spots her. "Vienna!"

Vienna looks around for a moment before spotting Tate and approaching him.

"Join glee club with me." Tate says. He already knows the answer, but it's worth a shot.

Vienna groans. "I don't have time to sit in a dusty old room, holding hands around a campfire, singing _Kumbaya_..."

"I don't think that's what glee club is." he retorts. "And you've got plenty of time. You just spend too much of it on the field or in the court."

"That's not making me wanna join."

It's Tate's turn to groan. He guesses he's gonna be stuck there by himself, but it doesn't matter that much. Even in a group of geek elitists who are probably going to stereotype him as a bitchy cheerleader, Tate will be fine as long as there's music.

* * *

Zara Yasmeen Nasser signs up out of sheer laziness and recalcitrance.

When Landon, who she knows from working for the Muckraker and the Thunderclap, had told her that he signed up for the school's new glee club, she initially thought that it was a gathering of people who would talk about things that would make them happy, which is rather pointless, since Zara can just as easily start her own glee club at home with her bed and her dog and a box of donuts.

A _singing_ club doesn't sound that bad, however, since there's probably not much work to do in glee club and it would keep her out of the house for longer. Not that being at home is awful; it's just that her mother is constantly on her back to get up and do something either productive, social or both, and Zara would much rather get lost in a choir and pretend to sing than literally study.

She absolutely can't stand being told what to do, so she's going to spite her _maamaan_ by doing the opposite of what she's being told to and by further distracting herself from her academics. Her parents _do_ need to realize, after all, that academia is not everything, and Zara is hoping to get them to do so before they try to convince her to apply to medical school next year - because if they do try, she's going to drop out before her matriculation to become a stripper just to irritate them, and she _really_ doesn't want that.

Deliberately rebelling against somebody who is trying to control her is the only thing that keeps Zara from acting on her feelings, and she'd like to avoid turning her back on her own emotions at all costs.

It's sounds complicated - maybe for somebody who is utterly shallow in feeling - but it's really not.

And besides, Landon had said that glee club is totally drama-free. Who _wouldn't_ want some light fun with no drama to go along with it?

* * *

It sounds horrible, but Sean Heinrich Yamazaki is kind of glad he's got such terrible taste in girls. It means that once they hurt him, he gets to hurt them back. Just worse.

Unusually, revenge hasn't occurred to Sean until right now, as he watches his locker neighbor Jordan try to stuff his broken lacrosse stick into his locker.

"What happened?" Sean smirks. He's not sure why but Jordan's anger is amusing. Probably because he's so small, and he looks like an angry little muppet. It's a little hard to take seriously.

"You should see my car." It almost feels like Jordan's anger is directed at Sean, with the way he's glaring up at him. "Gotta drive around with plastic taped to the windows until I can get them replaced."

Jordan slams his locker door shut. "I guess this is what happens when you cheat on a girl who has rage issues."

Sean wants to laugh at how ridiculous Jordan is. He feels no sympathy for the guy, because here Jordan is, overwhelmed with anger and hatred because his car has been fucked up, whilst showing no remorse for cheating on somebody.

"Sounds like a fair punishment to me." Sean quips, trying to further piss Jordan off, because let's face it - he deserves it.

Apart from the ridiculous notion that a teenage girl is perfectly capable of breaking a lacrosse stick in half, Sean's mind is also preoccupied with thoughts of his own ex-girlfriend, Aubrey Emerson.

He leaves Jordan alone, because he doesn't want to get a strong case of second-hand embarrassment from seeing Jordan go all Tasmanian Devil in the hallway, and also because he's in a better mood than usual today and all of this angry energy is fucking that up. So, Sean heads off to sign up for glee club, because his uncle insists he keep busy with at least one artsy extracurricular activity, and a show choir seems the most decent.

Sean makes an effort to lock eyes with Aubrey when he passes her in the hallway, because he _wants_ her to feel awful.

Now, if Aubrey had broken up with him during a mature conversation about how she's starting to like somebody else, Sean would have been perfectly understanding and let all of this go.

But, no. This bitch had to get Sean to a point of being completely, utterly crazy about her, and then dumps him the second the highly popular Harry Amell pays attention to her, _just_ so that she can boost her own popularity.

Aubrey _deserves_ to be hurt, and Sean can't wait to do the honors.

He's gotten revenge on girls for hurting him before, but this time, Sean wants to cut so deep that Aubrey is permanently scarred, that she never, _ever_ stops apologizing for what she's done.

Sean is no amateur like Jordan's ex-girlfriend. He knows that material things can be replaced; a lacrosse stick to directly your emotions is much worse than a lacrosse stick to your car.

Aubrey likes her face. She likes her popularity. So, Sean is going to take those from her. And he's going to make sure he gets away with it.

When he gets to the board to sign up, Sean sees Zara from Biology writing her name on the list for glee club, which is almost too perfect.

It's as if the universe is telling him, "You want to get away with murder? Here's somebody to take the fall for you."

Sean doesn't know much about Zara. He's pretty sure that if he greets her right now she won't be able to recognize him, or at least recall his name, but he knows through Aubrey that Zara and Aubrey don't like each other much. And the enemy of Sean's enemy is his friend.

He doesn't say anything to her before she wanders off, because the only thing he knows for sure about Zara is that she's extremely aloof, and if he's going to eventually get her to trust him, he can't have her thinking of him as an annoying guy who keeps pushing her to talk.

Sean has got the vague foundation of his plan figured out.

* * *

Vienna Sophia Harper is not sure how this had happened, but she'd just signed up for glee club.

Vienna blames her parents for this. The last thing she needs is to waste her time in a stupid, pointless club when she's got so many more important things to focus on. Glee club is going to be a big distraction.

"This will be great for you." Tate says, as if he knows everything. "It'll keep you from overworking yourself with all that practice."

Vienna groans. "You sound just like my parents."

She makes her voice higher, more nasal, and more annoying to mock her parents in a voice that sounds nothing like either of them. "You train too hard. Relax. Have fun by wasting your time on the dumbest fucking club your school has to offer."

"It's uncanny." Tate says sarcastically, as the pair enter their afternoon English class.

Vienna find it so weird that her parents and close friend are actually trying to keep her from spending too much of her time on something she loves. It's like they don't want her to be happy.

Her parents had said that by joining glee club, she'd keep from ending up drained from all of the sports, which is the single most fucking stupid reason why anybody should join any club.

Sports is Vienna's life.

She's happy to spend all day, every day for the rest of her life, out on the field or in the court. She's passionate about all things athletic, and focusing most of your time of something you're passionate about is most definitely _not_ unhealthy.

Vienna momentarily considers skipping out on auditions because she's pretty she could get Link, who is her parents' only way of finding out whether Vienna's been attending glee club or not, to shut up about it if she can convince him that her being in the same club as him would somehow interfere with his all of his flirting, but with the way that Tate has been going on lately, about how Vienna needs to focus things other than sports, she's pretty sure he'll end up dragging her ass to the auditorium even if she's kicking and screaming.

Tate looks like a perfectly groomed poodle, but he's actually more of a Rottweiler. A Rottweiler who can't go a week without a new _Real Housewives_ episode.

"I need my time, Tate. You all need to understand that I can't afford to waste it on this glee shit." Vienna complains, taking her seat behind Tate, who turns around in his chair to face her after placing his backpack on his desk. "This plan to keep me from overworking myself isn't going to work anyway. Glee club is going to distract me from sports, and that will only end up making me want to be even _more_ focused on sports to make up for the distraction."

"Sports, sports, sports." Tate exaggerates, attempting to mimic Vienna's Australian accent but sounding very British instead, which makes Vienna laugh. "It's all you talk about, think about, spend your time on... I don't think that's healthy."

Vienna almost cringes at how much Tate sounds like her parents.

"I've got three parents." she rolls her eyes. She realizes that class should have started minutes ago. "Where is this teacher, anyway? This is the third time she's been late this week."

"I know." Tate replies. "I don't think Frankie can afford to lose out on working on her punctuation; have you seen her tweets? It's like she gets fourth graders to handle her Twitter account for her."

"It's freakin' Twitter, Tate. You are _literally_ the only person who finds enough time and energy to make sure that your tweets are grammatically correct." Vienna smirks in amusement.

She checks her watch and then twists her wrist to show Tate the time. "See. Seven minutes late."

"You know, she could have been killed or, like, abducted by aliens or something on her way over here." he jokes.

Vienna sighs and sarcastically says, "You are _way_ too optimistic."

* * *

A variety of extracurricular activities looks great on college applications.

In a sea of nerdy wannabe doctors, scientists and engineers who've never been a part of any after-school clubs besides the academic decathlon and the _Star Wars_ fan club, Halley Levona Akerman is most definitely going to stand out amongst the other applicants at CalTech when the time comes, now that she's joined two athletic and two artsy clubs to list on her resume.

Halley's got Rachel and Santana to thank. She met them on Tuesday when they told her about how glee club would look great on college applications and how it would be a great stress-reliever for somebody as busy and neurotic as Halley. They both seemed to like Halley, which was weird since most people think she's a bitch - which is true; they just don't know it yet - and Halley wonders why the only people who don't brush her off without giving her a shot are so freaking annoying that it makes Halley wants to wear stab her ears with a pair of scissors every time she hears their voices.

 _Maybe that's why._

Although Halley doesn't have much free time on her hands, she'd managed to shuffle some things around on her year's schedule and on all of her timetables to make space for glee club, but she didn't have to sacrifice her _Lord of the Rings_ -slash- _Arrowverse_ -slash- _PowerPuff Girls_ role-playing time on Tumblr as the original lovechild of Laurel Lance and Mojo Jojo to do so, so it's all good.

"I'm so glad to see that you're signing up." Rachel gushes.

Santana looks at the list and smirks. "One more sign-up and we've got a club."

"Assuming we all get in." Halley says, even though she's certain she will.

"Everyone gets in." Rachel explains. "Marley is enforcing Mr. Schuester's everyone-who-signs-up-gets-accepted rule, which I don't necessarily approve of, but it doesn't matter what I say because I'm not in charge of this club anymore."

Rachel laughs awkwardly, and Halley mumbles, "Right, that's why you're chewing my ear off over this crap. Because this totally doesn't matter to you."

"See." Santana tells Rachel, watching Halley. "She's totally me. Gotta start bitching about every little thing..."

"Do I have to remind you, Santana, that Hayley-"

"Halley."

"-that _Halley_ is not only Jewish, but also has got her entire future planned out, and is a member of nearly every school club, just like I was as a sophomore?"

Halley rolls her eyes. As entertaining as this _might_ be, she doesn't have the patience to watch a rerun of Tuesday's episode right now, and honestly, Halley finds these women a little bit pathetic. _Somebody_ needs to set them straight.

"For the love of God," Halley groans, "I am _not_ either of you. I do not want to be _anything_ like either of you. On Tuesday, you were talking yourselves up like you're the next Britney and Barbra, going on and _on_ about you're both off to be huge stars and how you have glee club to thank, but here you are, gormlessly roaming a school you say you graduated from _years_ ago, trying to recruit members of a club you can't seem to let go of! Do you seriously think that I'd like to follow in your footsteps to end up back in the hallways of this shithole in my early twenties, dressed like a low-class call girl from the seventies," she gestures to Santana, then to Rachel, "or my dead grandma's cat if she'd been dressed in the dark and was trying way too hard to look sexy, looking for a random student who displays maybe a fraction of personality and hoping to relive my glory years through her?"

Halley takes a deep breath to gather herself. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

She walks away, very well aware of how harsh she was but still convinced that Rachel and Santana needed to hear that. Hopefully being told to move on by a 15-year-old girl will get them to do just that.

"Halley! Baby!"

Just when she thought she'd escaped the irritating...

"Joey." Halley rolls her eyes. It was like he'd appeared in front of her out of nowhere.

Joey attempts to look cool by trying to lean on something, but upon realizing that there is nothing around him to lean on, he stumbles for a bit before finally leaning back on his left foot.

"I see you're not wearing your glasses." he smirks, and he looks stupid.

"Yep." Halley says, planning to make this fast so that she can get away. "I was tired of having to keep wiping my glasses when it rains, so I opted for contact lenses."

She attempts to leave, but Joey stops in front of her to keep her from getting away. It's not that she thinks he's a bad guy or anything - in fact, she is capable of having good, normal conversations with him as long as he's not trying too hard to come across as cool - it's just that when Joey's in his cocky, 'I'm so awesome' mode, Halley kind of just wishes he didn't exist.

"Before you leave, just let me say one thing." Joey begs. "Please?"

Halley folds her arms tightly across her chest and raises an eyebrow.

Joey clears his throat and grins like a dork. "Were you forged by Sauron? Because you are _precious_!"

Halley's eyes widen as she's a little thrown off by Joeys attempt at Gollum's voice. "How long were you working on _that_ for?"

Joey sighs in exasperation. "I saw it on a meme."

"You're such an idiot." Halley rolls her eyes, beginning to walk around Joey to _finally_ get away. "But at least your lines are funny."

* * *

Almost getting suspended during the first week of school is not ideal, but it's not a surprise. Not for Adonis Blaze Foster anyway.

It certainly doesn't help that a majority of the student body seem to have heard that Blaze had gotten into a fight with a mega-popular hockey star, but Blaze tells himself not to care about anything they say, _especially_ when they find out that he's going to be joining glee club as a punishment.

That's right - the biggest badass in school is going to join glee club because _his mom_ is making him do it.

He blames Link for his mom knowing about glee club by continuously talking about his upcoming audition and bringing up the fact that Vienna would be joining, too. His mom had said that glee club would be a great way for him to channel his anger into something positive and she hopes that it'll help him stay out of trouble.

"I take it this is the year of your coming out." Vienna teases as they strut into school after losing Link to a pretty cheerleader somewhere in the parking lot. It's Friday morning, and auditions are this afternoon.

Blaze looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You're about to come out of the dance closet." she explains, smirking playfully. "You won't be able to stay in there as a member of a show choir."

Blaze groans loudly and doesn't respond.

"You're so moody today." V mumbles.

"It might have something to do with the fact that I was almost suspended from school and the guy I got into a fight with got off with a warning."

"Mmm-hmm." Vienna responds. "Principal Sylvester goes easy on her best athletes."

"Well, that's great for _you_." he says bitterly.

Vienna lets out a short laugh for whatever reason, and reverts back to their original topic. "So, you're not gonna finally free your inner ballerina, Sammy Davis?"

"No." Blaze answers sternly. "Never, probably."

"Hey, Hotshot." a teammate of V's greets as she passes her in the hallway.

"I'll see you auditions." Vienna tells Blaze before she goes off to chat with her friend. "Don't forget to sign up for glee club, Twinkle Toes."

Grateful that Vienna had whispered that last part, Blaze heads to his locker, wondering what song to sing at auditions while still being mad at Principal Sylvester for not giving the other guy the same treatment as he.

"So, what happened to your face?" Blaze looks down to his left to see Zara opening up her own locker. "Looks like you walked into a lamppost or something."

"Walked into a lamppost?" Blaze furrows his brows at the strange comparison, and briefly wonders why she hasn't heard of this fight, especially since the other guy is _apparently_ so popular.

Zara turns to look at him and sighs. "I may have experienced it once or twice."

Blaze chuckles. "I got into a fight with that hockey guy yesterday afternoon."

"Hockey guy." Zara imitates. "You got into a fight on the fourth day of school?"

"He made me angry."

"That's a fantastic reason." Zara responds in sarcasm. "If I'm ever on trial for murder, I'll use that excuse. Come on, it's totally easy for you to control your anger."

"No, it's easy for _you_ to control _your_ anger because you don't get angry." Blaze retorts. "Anyway, long story short, I was about to get suspended and I got let off the hook because it's the first week of school, and now I'm joining glee club so that I can contribute to McKinley High in a positive way."

"Why do you sound so mad about it?" Zara asks. "Your brother will be there, Vienna Harper will be there, _I'll_ be there."

"Yeah." he breathes.

"It'll be good for you." Zara repeats the words that Blaze's mom had said the previous evening and Vienna had said earlier this morning as Blaze slams his locker door shut and hopes they're all right.

* * *

 _ **Next Chapter:**_

 ** _The New Blaine_**

 _Struggling to take control of the glee club and having concerns about her lack of leadership skillls, Marley splits the club into two large groups as their first assignment in order to choose a single lead to guide the club. With Vienna and Emily, who nominate themselves as potential leaders, as captains of the groups, members of the glee club quickly begin to get to know each other well enough to form fast alliances, and to pick out who they deem as the bad eggs._


	4. Chapter 3 part 1

**Chapter Three:**

 **The New Blaine**

part I

* * *

 _ **A/N: I changed the title of this chapter as I thought "**_ **The New Blaine** **" _was a better fit, since in Marley's point of view, she'd be looking for a new Blaine for the glee club. The original title of this chapter was_ "** **Oh Captain, My Captain _."_ **

**_A/A/N: A special thanks to guest reviewer_ Cwap _. I couldn't thank you for leaving a review since you weren't logged in and I couldn't find a user with that name, but I appreciate you taking the time to offer some feedback. Although, I wasn't aware that it was possible to copy and paste on this website..._**

 ** _A3/N: I've discussed this in an update, but I feel I should run through this again - I've realized that I may have messed up the timeline, as during chapter one, Rachel had described herself as a "soon-to-be Broadway legend," which she should have been already as she'd gotten the part of Fanny Brice towards the end of Marley's sophomore year and_ Funny Girl _should have had its run by now. Due to the fact that the star of the show was a university student, I'm going to pretend as if the show was postponed, with rehearsals being dragged out, due to Rachel's busy schedule, and she is currently approaching her opening night. I hope that I've patched up that plot hole decently enough, but I'm not going to stress too much over it due to the fact that Rachel's storylines aren't relevant to the plot of this story._**

 ** _A4/N: I'm finding it much easier to come up with storylines for some characters, and these very characters are easy to imagine gelling well with others and providing some interesting dynamics among members of the club, so it looks like I might have to scale down the amount of main characters, even though I don't really want to. Please, please, PLEASE feel free to offer your ideas and opinions on plots and characters when reviewing, as they would be a big help to me._**

* * *

 **Side characters:**

Shannon Beiste (Dot Marie Jones)

Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) - _voice only_

Lyle Donovan (Tate Ellington)

Sabrina Ford (Halston Sage)

Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) - _voice only_

Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) - _voice only_

Emma Schuester (Jayma Mays)

Janelle Taylor (Candice Patton)

* * *

Almost all of Marley's memories of being a part of the New Directions were good, but there were two weeks towards the end of her sophomore year that didn't go so well.

While those two weeks were not too long ago considered a chunk of Marley's least cherished memories purely because of Jake, today a small part of her looks back to that first week - the week they'd tributed Katy Perry and Lady Gaga - with regret, none of it related to Jake. Not directly, at least.

Marley regrets not getting out of her comfort zone, as the assignment had instructed her to. At the time she'd been proud of herself in asserting who she is, and in proving a point to Jake, but now she regrets not finding a way to venture out of her comfort zone while staying true to herself. It would have been for her own good.

Life doesn't offer you a choice as to whether or not you'd like to step out of your box. Real life throws you into the deep end and its up to you to start swimming or at least keep yourself afloat, regardless of what you're comfortable with. Marley had once thought it to be cruel assignment to practically _force_ students out of their comfort zones without offering them a choice, but now she realizes why counselors, mentors and teachers encourage you to do so - to prepare you for what life throws at you. To teach you to that sometimes, you're going to find yourself in an unfamiliar or unwanted situation and you're going to have to make things work regardless of who you are and what you're comfortable with.

Marley has never had to be a teacher before, in any sense of the word. She's never even had to be a mentor, or a leader. She's always been just Marley, an individual. She's been a daughter, a friend, a teammate and a lover. She's been a student, and of the world, she still is.

Being a _director_ is way, way out of Marley's comfort zone.

All Marley wants is to have fun and to what she loves. Leaders, mentors and directors _teach_. They command, motivate and inspire. They take control of their worlds, rather than sitting around waiting for life to happen, waiting to take things in and respond to it.

Marley is no director, but she's not going to back down this time. She's going to be her easygoing self while still trying to break out of her comfort zone. Or at least, she's going to try.

Marley pins up the list of members who's just been accepted to join the New Directions - which literally was all twelve of who'd auditioned, due to the "everybody gets in rule," and Marley was just relieved that they're all talented - on the bulletin board for the school's club and runs her eyes down the list.

Halley Akerman is the first name on the sheet, as the members are listed in alphabetical order, and Marley thinks back to Rachel's excited pointing to the stage as the petite sophomore had began to audition.

With the pianist being the only member of the band to provide any music, Halley sang in powerful but understated vocals a slowed down version of a popular song.

" _This is the part when I break free,_

 _'Cause I can't resist it no more_."

Tate Burnett is the next name on the list, and like Halley, he'd opted for a single instrument rather than requiring assistance from the band.

" _There are places I remember_ ," sang the dark-haired boy, donning a Cheerios uniform and playing the acoustic guitar. " _All my life, though some have changed_."

The third name listed, Sara Castillo, belongs to another acoustic guitar-player, who like Tate had provided herself with background music, singing, " _It's a crazy ride. And baby, you and I are keeping our sweet love alive, tonight, while we're young and beautiful_."

Marley reads the name of Frankie Cavallini, remembering being utterly in awe of her beauty and her confidence.

With the band providing her with upbeat backing music, Frankie danced around rather suggestively as she sang, " _If I was from Paris, I would say, 'Ooh la la, la la la la la'_."

Joey Dooley's performance was far less loud and flashy than Frankie's, and Marley admits to herself that she _loved_ his song choice, possibly the most.

" _Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me,_

 _But bear this is mind, it was meant to be_."

Dont judge - Marley _is_ just a teenage girl after all.

A much more up-tempo performance was provided by Blaze Foster, who didn't seem all that excited to be auditioning, but showed off his rock-'n-roll-suited voice in an upbeat rock song.

" _I'm a lonely boy,_

 _Oh, oh-oh, I got a love that keeps me waiting_."

Link Foster, Blaze's brother, apparently, and one of the first few auditioners, opted to perform a Top 40 song and seemed to have a lot of fun dancing around the stage.

" _Say somethin', if you're feeling the vibe_ ," he sang, winking directly at Kitty from afar. " _Say somethin', baby don't be so shy_."

Vienna Harper performed one of the last few auditions and was the last student to show off her skills on the acoustic guitar. With her wildly curly blonde locks parted over to her left, Vienna sang in a voice as sweet as honey.

" _I can't wait to get you on the floor, good-looking_ ," she sang her own rendition of the song. " _Going so hot, so hot, just like an oven_."

Since she still considers him a friendly acquaintance, Marley was relieved to find that Landon _does_ have a talent for singing, with a distinctive voice that is uniquely suited for reggae.

" _Honey came in and she caught me red-handed, creeping with the girl next door_ ," he danced to his goofy and fun song choice. " _Picture this: we were both butt-naked, banging on the bathroom floor_."

While both Landon and Sara Castillo had shown to be clearly nervous as they'd they'd taken the stage, Emily Lee was by far the most shy. Being the first to audition had probably placed a lot of pressure on her, as the pint-sized girl had rambled on about her song choice for ages before she'd finally began to sing.

" _There I was again tonight_ ," she had started, with Marley sighing in gladness that the auditions were off to a good start. " _Forcing laughter, faking smiles. Same old tired lonely place_."

Marley had enjoyed the low and rich vocals of Zara Nasser on one of her favorite jazz classics.

" _I know I could_ ," the brunette sang, " _always be good, to one who'll watch over me_."

The last name on the list belongs to the tall and seemingly cheery Sean Yamazaki, who'd performed a loud rock and roll song that Marley wasn't familiar with, in his crystal-clear baritone.

" _Because what you give is what you get,_

 _Yeah, life's not out to get you,_

 _Yeah, life's not out to get you_."

Marley's still nervous about having to take on the role of a director, but she's happy with the team she's got regardless of whether she'll be able to lead them or not.

* * *

 **~*GLEE*~**

* * *

"I'm freaking out." Marley complains to Rachel, over the phone, during school hours as she sits by herself in the choir room.

Marley's not usually one to vent when she's upset, but she needs advice, and since everybody who's ever been in glee club knows that Rachel Berry _is_ glee club, Marley trusts that Rachel would know what to do in her situation.

Marley can't even remember what she's doing. She wants to bring back the glee club, but she's not going to be the director of the New Directions forever. Marley wants to be a star.

Maybe the reason why she's so unsure as to how to take control of the glee club is because she's not bringing it back for the right reasons. Maybe Marley had only convinced herself that she wishes to relive her days in the choir room, and that she hopes that other kids, kids like her, would get to experience the same journey. Maybe the sole reason as to why Marley is resurrecting the glee club is because she's got nowhere else to go and nothing else to do.

She's a Lima Loser.

Marley reminds herself that the students who'd just been accepted to join the New Directions probably feel the same way. All the more reason why she should reach out to these guys - because she connects with them. Because she _is_ who they are.

"I find the 'fake-it-'til-you-make-it' tactic to be very effective." Rachel advises Marley, her voice louder than usual so that she can be heard over the sound of her roommates' chattering. "Just walk in wearing your brightest smile and introduce yourself as if those kids ought to already know who you are, and then give them their assignment, which you should have planned for."

"How did you know that I didn't plan any-"

"My sixth sense is stronger than usual today." Rachel interrupts Marley's question, and the younger girl is taken aback, unsure of how to respond.

"If you're unsure of your ability to lead these kids to victory, do what Mr. Schue had done." Rachel instructs, somewhat sternly. "Get somebody else to do your work for you."

"What do you mean?" Marley asks, slightly uncertain about this idea.

"During my first week in that glee club of my sophomore year, Mr. Schue had wanted to quit to become an accountant - or a secretary or something. I don't know; I was very self-involved back then."

"Rachel, _focus_."

"Right - it was Finn who had pulled as together as a team which had encouraged Mr. Schue to stick around." Rachel finished. "My point is that what the New Directions need is a great leader. You, as director, will be responsible for managing rehearsals and making decisions, but a good leader will be burdened with the strenuous task of getting twelve minds to work as one."

"Of course." Marley speaks. Blaine was the leader of the glee club back when Marley was a part of it, and although Finn had seemed to do most of the work, it was Blaine and Sam who had saved the day and had ultimately gotten the New Directions a chance to compete at Regionals.

Marley needs to find a new Blaine for the New Directions.

"You're right. I'm no leader, but at least one of these kids has got to be a great one." Marley thinks out loud. "Now, how do I decide who's going to be a good enough leader to help us win Nationals...?"

"You should make _that_ your assignment for the week." Rachel states, almost bossily, but not that Marley minds. "Split the group into teams and have the team captains pull off their best performances- oh, I wish I was there! Planning setlists and telling people what to do is more my forte than taking directions from my horrible director..."

"How are rehearsals?" Marley checks. She almost feels bad for not having asked sooner. "You're going to officially be a Broadway star in just a few weeks. Must be exciting."

"Not so much exciting as nerve-racking. I'd stress-cleaned my entire apartment about four times last week." Rachel complains. "Santana's in a little bit of a funk right now which certainly doesn't help to ease-"

"Rachel, take care of Santana! If I have to listening to her yell about how horrible her life is for five more seconds, I'm going to rip my ears off with my bare hands," comes a higher-pitched male voice from the other end of the line. "And I'm stealing back my bath salts, by the way."

"Things are crazy here." Rachel says, raising her voice. "You can probably tell..."

Marley nods even though she's very much aware of the fact that Rachel can't see her.

"No motherfucking fourteen-year-old has the right to tell me I'm pathetic!" shouts an _infuriated_ Santana. Marley can feel her anger though the phone. "I was just as fucking smug back in high school - that little shit will be just as much of a loser as I am some day!"

Santana's yells quickly turns into loud and uncontrollable sobs. "I'm a loser. I have no future. I need a drink."

"I have to go," Rachel tells Marley, "before Santana gets drunk on wine coolers and spends all night watching _My Crazy Obsession_ reruns on TLC."

"Yeah." Marley replies. "Thanks for the advice, Rach. And good luck, for everything."

"You too."

On that last note, Marley sighs and hangs up, absorbing Rachel's last two words to her, as she knows she's in need of all the good luck she can get.

* * *

Joey fits pumps as he reads his name on the list of students who've been accepted to join the school's glee club.

Finally, Halley will get to see an entirely different side of him. Yeah, he's incredibly intelligent and funny and therefore incredibly awesome, but perhaps Halley would like him more if she could see another, more fun and more human side to him, rather then knowing him only as the cool guy he seems to be.

"How are you this excited?" Link asks, standing on Joey's left. "Everyone knows that they're getting in. The director said so herself at auditions - auditioning was just a formality."

"I know, but I needed to make sure. I feel really good about this New Directions thing." Joey replies enthusiastically, looking down at his freshman friend, who is an entire four inches shorter than him. "Halley will get to see some of my hidden depths."

"Hidden depths?" Link questions, raising an eyebrow.

"I am a complex man of many layers, Lincoln." Joey smiles proudly. "Why else would it have taken me so many years to finally allow Halley to see my musical talents?"

"When you said 'hidden depths' I assumed you meant _emotional_ depth." Link states. He sounds as if he's trying to make some kind of point, but Joey's not sure what that point is, and stares at Link blankly, hoping that Link will continue to explain himself.

"Girls like _sensitive_ guys." Link explains, taking Joey's hint. "This isn't the fifties - you don't have to be a macho tough guy to get the girl. You just have to prove that you have feelings."

"I _have_ proved that I have feelings." Joey retorts, still unsure about as to what point Link is approaching. "I really like Halley. See - feelings."

"It seems to me like this showcase of your feelings for Halley is the your way of proving to yourself and to everybody else that you're not a robot." Link says. He talks slowly and carefully, as if he's trying not to offend Joey, which confuses hI'm even further.

"Why would I want to prove that I'm not a robot?" Joey furrows his eyebrows. "Robots are awesome. If people thought I was one, I'd keep that charade up, even if it means that I'll die a virgin."

Link sighs and turns around to lean against the bulletin board, ignoring Joey's comment. "You always talk about the fact that you like Halley but you've never really delved into it. Have you ever told Halley _why_ you like her?"

Joey stops to think for a moment. He never has - he's never even actually asked her out, because he's so afraid of what might happen after she rejects him.

Joey knows why he loves Halley. At least, he _thinks_ he does. He just has some trouble putting it into words, but he's pretty sure he has reasons for liking her so much. After all, you can't have been crazy about somebody for eight years with no reasons.

Somebody should look into that.

"Fine." Joey gives in, when he realizes that his attempt to deductively reason his emotions in order to understand that might be proof that he's somewhat of a robot after all. "Although I have plenty of feelings, I suppose I'm not great at understanding them, especially in other people. I'm just curious to know where they come from."

"Stop thinking about where they come from and think about what they _are_." Link advises. "Maybe next time you're with Halley, instead of hitting her with a terrible pick-up line or droning on and on about how much you like her, talk about the other things you like, and the things you don't. Give her a chance to connect with you."

"Alright." Joey nods, wondering what he would say. "I like _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ series, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and when the cashiers in supermarkets smile at me. Things I don't like include those terrifying hairless cats, this meaningless conversation and the fact that psychologists call their work a kind of science."

"Those are _all_ of your feelings?" Link asks.

"Well, they're all the feelings I'm having right _now_." Joey answers. "There are so many of them I'm becoming emotionally drained."

"Maybe we should forget about the showing your sensitive side." Link suggests. "Maybe you should show off a bit. Show Halley that you can do more than get straight As and play video games."

"You're right." Joey nods. "Gone are the days of me being too afraid to toot my own horn. This year, Halley's going to see how horny I can be."

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" Link asks, chuckling for some bizarre reason.

" _Yes_." Joey states, as the answer to that question is obvious. "And if you're interested to know, I find my voice very pleasing to the ears." He pauses for a moment and adds, "You're welcome."

Link taps Joey on the arm and nods his head in the direction of two brunette girls walking towards the bulletin boards; Joey recognizes both girls from the glee auditions last Friday - one sang a Taylor Swift song, and the other a Carrie Underwood one.

"Watch and learn, alright?" Link tells Joey softly, standing upright, and Joey's not quite sure as to _what_ Link wants him to watch but he pays attention anyway.

"Emily!" Link flashes a smile at both girls, but focuses his attention on one. "You gave a really great performance on Friday. I didn't even know that you could sing. You have a lovely voice."

The shorter Asian girl - Emily - bows her head as her cheeks redden. Joey assumes that she's either become shy, or that the temperature of the hallway is increasing to a heat that her body isn't naturally comfortable with.

"Oh, um, thank you. You were really good, too. I almost didn't even audition because I was so nervous and I rehearsed like a million different songs before I picked _Enchanted_ and- Taylor Swift's new album is really good, but I kind of miss her old stuff, and... I'm really excited about the winter musical and I'm actually thinking of auditioning-"

"Would you like a paper bag? I fear you might begin to hyperventilate in a minute or two." Joey interrupts Emily's rapid babbling and shortening of breath to warn her of what might happen next.

Link looks at Joey with widened eyes and a raised eyebrow, as if he's trying to tell him something.

"Did I say something wrong?" Joey asks. He was only trying to help Emily who was certain would have been having a panic attack right about now.

"Emily, this is my friend Joey." Link introduces Joey. "He's a sophomore."

Link turns to the girl standing beside Emily and says, while flashing another smile, "I'm Link Foster. Nice to meet you, um...?"

"Sara." she answers softly, offering Link and then Joey a small wave and a smile, which Joey returns.

"Pretty." Link winks, and Sara barely reacts. Most girls smile a lot more when Link smirks at them and tells them that their name is pretty.

"You were at auditions on Friday too, right?" Link asks, and both Sara and Emily nod yes in response. "What grade are you in?"

"I'm a junior."

Joey is getting really bored.

"So is my brother. Is there a reason why we've never met before?" Link asks, still smiling, which must be exhausting. "I'm certain I would have remembered you if we had."

"Sara's new." Emily states, her eyebrows furrowed. She doesn't look quite as happy - or as about to lose her breath from talking too much - as she did a minute ago. "She just moved here from Texas."

"That explains the cowboy boots." Link smiles at Sara.

Sara smiles again and nods, her eyebrows raised, and says, "We came over here to see if we made it into glee club and you guys are kind of blocking our view, so..."

"Of course." Link nods, shifting further to the left and ushering Joey out of the way as well.

"I thought that you believed checking the list was unnecessary as everyone who had auditioned has been accepted." Joey says, and Link looks at him blankly. He then realizes something and let's out a small gasp. "Oh, I get it. They're pretty girls so you can't correct them when they're being stupid. I completely understand."

Link laughs, but his laugh sounds a little strange, and tells the girls, "Don't mind him. Joey's a little... socially inept."

"It's fine." Emily smiles. "We should have paid more attention to the director when she was talking. Sara was telling me all about what her old school was like-"

"Are you going to start rambling again? Because I don't think your lungs are ready for that." Joey interrupts Emily again, shaking his head, whose face turns a bright red for the second time.

Link ruins the a few seconds of much-needed comfortable silence the group had had after Joey's comment to speak again.

"I see you've highlighted your hair." he smiles, winking again. "It's a really great look on you, Em."

"Is there something in your left eye?" Joey asks Link, regarding his constant winking. "It appears to be very irritated."

Sara laughs for some reason, which Joey finds rather rude as an itchy eye is nothing to laugh about, but judging by the downwards pulling of the corners of Emily's and Link's mouths, they appear to be bothered by something. Joey wonders what it is.

"Link!" comes a high-pitched sound.

A blonde cheerleader joins the group, with a few other Cheerios standing behind her, all of them carrying a cup of slushie each, which makes Joey groan, as this group is becoming way too big. He's not sure as to whether or not it would be rude for him to walk away from Link and all of these girls, but he stays, because although he's becoming increasingly uncomfortable and unsure of what to say and how to behave, Joey enjoys making new friends.

"Sabrina," greets Link with _another_ smile and _another_ wink. "Joey, Emily, Sara, this is Sabrina Ford."

Sara waves at Sabrina and Emily begins to say, "Hello-" but is interrupted.

"You said that you were going to call after our date on Friday, but you didn't." Sabrina looks only at Link, as if Joey, Emily and Sara are invisible. "Did you forget? Did you decide not to?"

"You look beautiful with your hair tied up, by the way." Link smirks, avoiding answering Sabrina's question. "Brings out your pretty eyes."

"I heard you went out with Mona on Saturday." Sabrina folds her arms, as one of her friends picks at her fingernails and the other two whisper to one another.

"I did." Link nods. "What can I say? I'm a friendly guy. I make time to hang out with the people I find interesting."

Sabrina squints her eyes, as Link continues, "I was going to call you, but considering you're such a beautiful, popular girl I assumed you were busy and that you would probably be annoyed by the fact that your phone is constantly blowing up by all of the guys who want to go out with you."

"I _am_ very desirable." Sabrina says, nodding.

"I really like you Sabrina, but you're way out of my league." Link says. "I'm kind of a nerd. I get straight As and I just joined the _glee_ club. My best friend spent all summer playing video games and inventing a language because parties intimidate him."

He gestures to Joey, who nods. "I did do that."

"I don't want to risk you losing your social status, Sabrina." Link states. "As much as it pains me to say this, I think you should be with a cool jock rather than with a nerdy freshman like me."

"You're right." Sabrina smiles. "And that was really sweet. But do you know what we popular kids do to _nerds_ at this school?"

"Buy them slushies to them feel better about being outcasts?" Link shrugs causally, pointing to the cup of grape-flavored slushie in Sabrina's hands.

"Nope." Sabrina smirks.

And suddenly, the bottom half of Joey's face, his neck and his chest were covered in ice.

He looks over at Link, Emily and Sara, all of whom had just been slushied directly in the face, their eyes shut. Joey is grateful for being too tall to be slushied in the face, but he feels bad for the other three, whose eyes are probably burning and who are ten times colder than he is due to having ice in their hair.

Sabrina and her three friends waltz away, tossing their empty slushie cups on the floor, as one of the cheerleaders shout, "Welcome to glee club, dorks!"

* * *

Emily had gotten slushied twice within one week, and she is officially _done_ with being treated like a punching bag.

"It's not that bad." Sara says, washing the ice and dye out of her own hair. "I managed to catch some of it in my mouth, so at least I got a free drink."

Emily angrily tosses her hair tie into the washbasin and agressively opens the tap to let the warm water run.

"Are you okay?" Sara asks. "You seem mad."

"I'm fine." Emily grunts, squeezing liquid soap into the palm of her hand. "I've been at this school for a week and I just got slushied for the second time. Everything's fantastic."

Last week, when Emily had gotten slushied for the first time, she ran straight to the bathroom and cried. She'd even missed a class because it had taken her such a long time to wash her hair and to stop crying. Today, Emily doesn't want to cry. She's just consumed with anger, and a loss of temper has never been a pretty color on her.

"Okay, so I'm just gonna finish up here and leave..." Sara sing-songs awkwardly.

Emily doesn't want her to leave. She kind of wants somebody to vent to. She's just a little embarrassed about what she needs to vent about.

Getting slushied yet again was awful. As she's washing her hair with cheap liquid hand soap, she doubts that this could ever get any easier. But what Emily's _truly_ pissed off about is not that she got slushied, or even that she got slushied twice, but rather because she got slushied in front of Link.

Emily feels like she'd just gotten slapped in the fact three times in a row.

First, that annoying and obnoxious Joey guy just had to embarrass Emily every time she began to babble a little bit, as if her awkward rambling wasn't embarrassing enough. _Then_ , Link started to flirt with Sara right in front of Emily.

Seeing that Sabrina girl had only made things worse. Emily wonders if maybe she's just not good enough for Link, since the girls he seems to go for are so drastically different from Emily.

Next to Sara and Sabrina, Emily looks like a little kid, and Link has always been very mature and sophisticated. Link probably sees Emily as a child, the way everybody else does. If he'd seen her as a teenager he would have asked her out by now - after all, he's had four years to do it. He's flirted with her a little, but he's still never asked her out.

And finally, that slushie.

Emily was certain that Link had talked their way out of getting slushied, so certain that she didn't run off the second she saw the cups in the hands of those four Cheerios. Emily should have braced herself for that slushie, knowing that she's never been a lucky girl.

"I hate this school." Emily mumbles, just to let Sara know that she doesn't really want to be alone right now.

"It's not that bad. At my old school, the gay kids used to spend most of their day in a locker and when they were let out and rushed off to class, the teachers would punish them for cutting class all day." Sara says, almost _too_ flatly. "Those kids would happily take a slushie to the face six times a day if it meant no more being trapped in a locker all day."

"That's really sad." Emily replies, frowning. Although, knowing that somebody else might have experienced a far worse form of bullying doesn't exactly erase all of the humiliation Emily had felt just a few minutes ago when she'd gotten slushied in front of the boy she'd been crushing on for over a year.

"I'm sorry that I'm being so snappy and moody." Emily grumbles. "I just really like Link and I'm really embarrassed. I know I'm being petty..."

Emily sees Sara's eyes widen when she looks at the taller girl's reflection in the mirror, and sounding shocked, Sara asks, "You like that really weird guy who can't understand normal human behavior?"

"No, not _him_." Emily answers, wrinkling her nose. "The shorter guy. The one who was hitting on you."

Sara remains silent for a few moments, and then says, "So ask him out."

"I can't do that!" Emily replies, because she's pretty sure that if she can't handle the humiliation that comes with being slushied in front of Link, then she sure as hell will break at being rejected by him.

"You keep complaining about how awful this school is, and you're super mad about being embarrassed in front of Liam-"

"Link."

"- so why don't you just try to turn all of this around for yourself by asking out the guy you like?" Sara finishes.

Emily is even more irritated now. "I'm allowed to feel upset about this."

"I know." Sara says, seeming more annoyed as well. "I was just trying to get you to look at on the bright side. You could think of how humiliating the past week has been for you with all of the slushying, and the bullying, and the walking around school with wet hair and stained clothing-"

"You're not really helping..." Emily murmurs.

"I'm just saying that you could see this as an opportunity to learn to stand up for yourself and go after what you want instead of just standing around and moping about it." Sara finishes. Emily wishes that she weren't as direct, but a part of her wonders if Sara is right.

Emily sniffs and asks, "What makes you think that I don't know how to stand up for myself?"

"You know, the look, the clothing, the way you talk... It's written all over you." Sara replies, as if the answer is extremely obvious. She then pauses and backtracks, "I mean, you look like a very nice person, and everybody knows that it's easy to take advantage of people who are too nice."

Emily takes a moment to think, running a hand through her wet hair and bending to pick up her bag.

She's pretty sure that she's perfectly capable of standing up for herself. She can't exactly remember the last time she _did_ stand up for herself, but there's got to be a reason for that.

Unless, of course, Sara is right and Emily _can't_ stand up for herself. She'd been accused of being a pushover in the past, but until now she's been so sure that she'd outgrown her pushover tendencies by now.

"You know what? You're right." Emily says firmly. "I am going to be on the student council and win the academic decathlon and play the lead in the school musical and I will not let other people steamroll me to get what they want when I deserve it just as much, maybe even more."

"That's the spirit." Sara smiles, clutching on the straps of her backpack, seemingly eager to leave the bathroom and to hurry off. "But you're still not going to tell that guy that you like him?"

"Not a chance in years." Emily groans, as she and Sara walk out of the bathroom, and part ways.

There's no way in hell that Emily will ever tell Link - or _any_ guy, for that matter - that she likes him because there is almost _zero_ chance that a guy could like her back, especially a guy as popular and well-liked as Link.

Emily knows that she is a good student, that she is talented, and even though there's a possibility that she might be a pushover, she likes that she's a nice person. But most guys don't want a _nice_ girl. They want a hot girl. A girl who looks good in hot pants and is willing to put out, and would be off with another guy within a week.

She could be the nicest human being to exist, but that would never compensate for her lack of "hotness," the very reason as to why she has never even been asked out on a date before.

Emily grips the strap of her messenger bag, bows her heads and sings to herself. " _You're on the phone with your girlfriend - she's upset. She's going off about something that you said, 'cause she doesn't get your humor like I do_."

Emily approaches her locker, opening it to swap out some textbooks for others. " _I'm in my room, it's a typical Tuesday night. I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like. And she'll never know your story like I do_."

Peering past the door of her locker, Emily eyes Link, who's donning his widest smile and engaged in a conversation with a tall, beautiful blonde senior who is clearly everything that Emily is not.

" _But she wears short skirts,_

 _I wear t-shirts,_

 _She's cheer captain,_

 _And I'm on the bleachers_."

Emily shuts the door of her locker pretty harshly and leans against it.

" _Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find_

 _That what you're looking for has been here the whole time._ "

Emily walks down the hallway, her head down as she is bumped and almost knocked over by one person after another, trying her best not to glance at Link as she passes him.

" _If you could see_

 _That I'm the one_

 _Who understands you?_

 _Been here all along,_

 _So, why can't you see_

 _You belong with me_."

Emily turns left to enter a classroom, singing, " _You belong with me_."

She sits behind Link in her next class, and watches him playfully flirt with the shy girl sitting next to him, the girl blushing furiously in response.

" _Oh, I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night_ ," she sings to the back of Link's head, brimming with jealousy. " _I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry. I know your favorite songs, and you tell me about your dreams. Think I know where you belong, think I know it's with me_."

Emily rests her chin in the palm of her hand and cups her cheek, her elbow firmly rested on her desk, as she turns to the left to pensively stare out the window.

" _Can't you see_

 _That I'm the one_

 _Who understands you?_

 _Been here all along,_

 _So, why can't you see_

 _You belong with me_."

She returns her attention back to Link, wishing that she had the guts to sing this song to his face.

" _Standing by and waiting at your backdoor._

 _All this time, how could you not know, baby?_

 _You belong with me,_

 _You belong with me_."

Emily slings her messenger bag over her head, heading out the door as soon as the teacher dismisses the class. " _You belong with me_."

" _Have you ever thought just maybe you belong with me_?" she sings, once again in the hallway, following Link as he greets random people as he passes them.

" _You belong with me_."

"Emily!"

Emily awakens from her daydream by Sara's call.

"Sorry." Emily replies, still standing in front of the bathroom mirror and only now heading out the door with Sara by her side. "I totally spaced. I don't usually do that."

"It's fine." Sara replies, as they exit the bathroom. "I'll see you in glee club."

"Yeah." Emily smiles, and the two girls part ways.

* * *

Marley is nervous.

She's been more nervous, way, _way_ more nervous, but reminding herself that she'd felt worse in the past is not helping to make her feel any more at ease. Looking at the twelve hopeful - okay, so maybe they're more bored than hopeful - faces in front of her and remembering that she was once one of these kids, she tells herself not to stress out too much.

Marley takes a deep breath and reminds herself to fake it 'til she makes it, and that the fact that she'd made sure at the auditions last Friday to memorize every student's name would surely impress these kids, donning a falsely confident smile.

"Hi. I'm Marley Rose, the director of this glee club."

Her wide smile is met with complete silence, save for a sneeze coming from Sara Castillo, whose hair is wet, which at this school, could only mean that she'd gotten slushied.

"You guys can call me Marley." she says, awkwardly swaying on her feet.

"How old are you?" asks Halley Akerman, a fair-skinned girl with straight, dark brown hair from the back, sitting far away from everybody else. The half-bored, half-annoyed look on her round face almost wipes the the grin off of Marley's face. "Are you even qualified to be a teacher?"

"No." Marley answers truthfully, but a little bit timidly. "I actually just graduated from this school in June, but I don't need any qualifications to be in charge of a non-academic, after-school club, so it's cool."

"Do you know _anything_ about music?" questions Tate Burnett, the boy Kitty had recruited, who sang _In My Life_ for his audition.

"Yes, I do." Marley answers, becoming a little bit annoyed. "I've been singing and playing the piano and writing songs for as long as I can remember."

The tall and lanky Joey Dooley kid nods his head slowly while the others remain silent, and the entire group seems to be even more bored than before.

"So, I've planned an assignment for this week." Marley states, trying her best to retain the upbeat and excitable attitude she'd had walking into this meeting. "The glee club needs a leader, and I was thinking that maybe you guys could split up into groups and the captain of the group that puts on the best performance by the end of the week will be named the leader of the New Directions."

Marley tries her best not to let out a loud exasperated sigh. Assignments didn't sound this boring when Mr. Schue was the one explaining them.

"Isn't being the leader of this club _your_ job?" questions Vienna Harper in what sounds like either a British or an Australian, accent. Marley's never been any good at detecting accents. "Is this assignment just a way to get one of us to do your work for you?"

Marley pauses, unsure as to how to respond. The truth is that Vienna is spot on, but she can't tell these kids that the entire reason as to why they're going to do this week's assignment is because Marley needs somebody to compensate for her own lack of leadership skills.

"I'm the _director_." Marley answers. She's not lying - at least, not _yet_. "The leader of the glee club gets all of the members of this group to work as one, and holds the team together. My job is to assign solos, duets, to make all the boring decisions like what musical to do or what songs to perform at competitions."

"Competitions?" asks Sean Yamazaki, with a slightly amused, somewhat disappointed look on his face. "So, this club isn't just about sitting around and singing for fun - we've got to put in actual work?"

"Yes, actually." Marley smiles, glad that somebody understands that being a member of the glee club might be hard work, even if Sean doesn't seem to be too thrilled about it. "We're going to have to work very hard all year if we want to win Nationals."

"Right, but this is just a fun after-school activity, so it's not like we have to win any of these dumb competitions." Frankie Cavallini checks, her statement sounding more like a question thanks to her tone. "This isn't going to get in the way of our social lives and everything else we've got going on?"

"Um..." Marley isn't sure as to whether or not to tell these kids that they might not have a glee club all year.

It seems like the reasonable thing to do - to tell them that they have to win Nationals or the club gets disbanded again. Sure, knowing might motivate some members to work even harder to keep the club, but knowing might also put a lot of pressure on others and cause them to freak out under stress.

Marley remembers Sectionals of 2012 - she was so afraid of screwing up, of looking bad, that she ended up doing just that and was the reason for the New Directions' disqualification.

And while Marley didn't know Mr. Schue all that well and didn't think he was a bad teacher - except for that time he suspended her, of course - she did notice how competitive he would get and how that had affected the team. It was stressful to continuously work to win, and to not let her teammates down.

Marley had originally joined the glee club simply because she loved to sing, but the pressure to work to win had taken a lot of the fun out of glee club. If these kids don't get to be a part of this amazing, crazy club for much time, Marley would much rather have these kids say goodbye to the club with the same memories of club she'd had back when she had to to the same: glee is all about having fun, appreciating music and doing those things around people you'll learn to love.

Its decided then.

Marley is not going to tell the New Directions that they have pretty much no choice but to win Nationals. That would be way too much pressure to put on these students during their first meeting as part of a club.

"Not at all." Marley shakes her head and smiles. "It would be really great to win the competitions we take part in and it's always good to work hard and become better, especially if singing is something you want to do for the rest of your life, but what's most important is that you guys have fun. And trust me, this the funnest club in the entire school."

Halley mumbles, "'Funnest' is not a word," just loud enough to be heard.

Marley tries to ignore Halley, and briefly wonders why Rachel and Santana both had obsessed over this girl all of last week.

"So, about this week's assignment-"

"How old are you?" Link Foster asks curiously.

Marley sighs and decides to answer all of these people's questions now, so that she won't have to deal with being constantly interviewed by this group in the future.

"I'm nineteen, and I graduated from this school in June." she says flatly, noticing a disappointed look on most of the members' faces - of course, nobody wants to have a recently graduated but clearly directionless child for their teacher.

Marley claps her hands together and smiles, and before anybody gets the chance to interrupt her again, she asks, "So, anyone up to be the captain of this club?"

Her question is met with complete silence.

"Anyone?" she checks. "Who would like to volunteer as tribute?"

Marley chuckles a little too loudly at her own joke that, for some reason, seems to have slightly pissed off this already sour bunch.

For a moment, Marley thinks that nobody is going to volunteer, but after about fifteen seconds of waiting, Marley's question finally receives a surprising answer as Emily Lee shyly and slowly raises her hand.

"I'd like to be the leader of the New Directions." she says rather timidly. "I think that I'd make a good one."

Marley smiles. Despite the fact that she's having a hard time seeing this young and shy girl as a leader, she has a feeling that she might have some sort of spark in her required to lead this team to victory, and she really appreciates that at least somebody is willing to step into the role of club captain.

"Anyone else?" Marley asks excitedly, bouncing on her feet just a little bit.

Nobody says anything for a minute, until Joey Dooley is the one to break the silence, causing Marley to assume that he would like to nominate himself as captain.

"Wouldn't it be more logical to declare Emily our leader?" he asks. "That way, instead of wasting our time on this useless assignment we can use this week for something more productive, such as working on our vocals or serenading the girl we like with a romantic John Legend song that we've been listening to all weekend when daydreaming about brushing her beautiful, silken, dark hair."

Joey's vaguely creepy closing sentence to his little speech is met with a glare to the back of his head from Zara Nasser, narrowed eyes from Vienna and Tate, a disgusted but amused nose-scrunch from Sara Castillo, a melodramatic eye roll from Halley and stifled chuckles from Sean and Link.

If Marley's being totally honest with herself, she finds what Joey had said pretty romantic.

Tate speaks up, ignoring Joey's comment. "I nominate Vienna as captain."

Marley's smile fades when Vienna responds with a, "What? No. I'm already the captain of literally every sports team in my age group."

"Being the leader of an artistic club will look great on college applications." Marley tells Vienna, hoping to get the younger girl to at least consider vying for captaincy.

She'd heard about Vienna Harper back when she was a junior and Vienna was just a freshman, and even back then, Vienna had built herself a pretty great reputation for herself as _the_ most talented and dedicated athlete in all of McKinley - Marley might be stereotyping Vienna a little bit but there's got to be a part of her that wants to get into a good college, as she _knows_ that she's a hardworking girl.

"We'd have a better a chance at winning competitions if we have a leader who's had experience in guiding teams." Tate explains, half to Vienna and half to the entire club. "I mean, we're from McKinley High - every one of our competitive clubs is at _least_ the Regional champion, from our Cheerios to our chess club to our synchronized swimming team. We can't be the only loser club in this entire club."

Marley considers asking Tate if he'd like to volunteer, but stops herself as she's sure that if he wanted to, he would have offered to go up against Emily already. Still, she really appreciates how much the boy already cares about this club, and how sensible he seems to be, and she's grateful that Kitty had recruited him.

"We kind of already are." Link tells Tate, gesturing to his neatly-styled wet hair. "But I guess that means that we really, _really_ need a win."

Link then turns to his left to look past Joey to Vienna.

"Fine." Vienna says with a shrug and a small smirk. "If this club needs a leader that badly."

"Great!" Marley grins, clapping her hands together a couple of times in a quick, fluttering movement. She's really excited that she finally gets to kick off the glee club's first assignment for the year, and mostly that some members seem to genuinely want to win competitions.

"So, basically the assignment for the week is for the two of you," Marley gestures to Emily and then to Vienna, both of whom are seated in the front row, "to be able to get a team working together to give the best performance you can possibly imagine, and the leader of the team that seems to work together best will become the leader of the New Directions."

Marley stops to catch her breath for a moment - she'd gotten way too excited and rushed through that sentence.

"Do we get to pick our own teams?" Vienna asks. "Because that would make his way too easy."

"No, you don't." Marley answers, trying to come up with a method as to how the teams can be decided. "Maybe we could divide you guys according to what time of the year your birthday is or something?"

"We could do the color thing, like on _Survivor_." Sean suggests. "You know, just put like five blue stuff and five green stuff in a bowl and the color we pick determines whose team we're on."

"That's a good idea." Marley nods in approval. "We'll use paper, then. Who here has paper?"

Halley raises her hand which catches Marley's eye, and then tears out a yellow page from the note book resting on her lap passing it to Landon who sits in the middle row, who bends over to hand it to Marley.

"Whose got paper that's not yellow?" Marley asks, to which Emily replies, "I do."

Emily picks up her messenger bag from the floor and sets in on her lap, rummaging through it to retrieve a notebook, from which she tears out a white sheet of paper and hands it to Marley.

Marley places the white page on top of the yellow one and stops to think before rising both paper up into pieces.

Halley, who has got to be telepathic, bitterly states, "Five pieces. Seriously, the tall Asian guy just said it."

"It's Sean." Sean corrects Halley, as Marley proceeds to tear the paper into jagged pieces of different shapes and sizes.

Gripping all ten pieces of paper in her left hand, Marley takes the brown fedora off her own head, places the pieces of paper inside it and shakes the hat a little bit.

"Emily, Vienna," she calls. "Stand up here with me while we figure out whose on your teams."

Emily and Vienna stand up and walk to the front, Vienna standing on Marley's left, and Emily on her right.

"If you pick a white piece of paper, you're on Team Emily and you'll spend the rest of this meeting here in the choir room." Marley instructs, feeling like a boss for the first time in her life. "If you pick yellow, you're on Team Vienna and you guys can rehearse in the auditorium. You all know where that is, right?"

Her question is met with some nods, some saying, "Yeah," and one person answering with, "I think so," so she goes on to move the fedora from one person to the next.

She starts at the left side of the front row with Link, who picks out a yellow piece of paper, then moving to the right to Joey, then to Tate, and Sara, with Joey ending up on Emily's team and the other two on Vienna's.

When she reaches the middle row, she moves from right to left, and as she does so, Zara picks out a white piece of paper, Frankie and then Sean white as well, and Landon picking out a yellow one.

Halley, who sits in the back row on the far left ends up on Vienna's team, leaving Blaze Foster, who's seated several seats away from Halley, on Team Emily.

Marley takes a few steps back to her position at the front, places her hat on her head, and checks her watch. "So, you've got less than forty minutes of today's meeting to start preparing. Have fun."

"I just wanted to personally introduce myself." he says with a smile, holding out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Link Foster."

"Marley." she returns his smile and shakes his hand, wondering what Link might wants from her.

"I'm sorry that I asked you how old you are." he smiles widely again. "That was inappropriate."

"It's okay." Marley shrugs.

Link lets out a short chuckle. "It's just that most of the teachers at this school are in their fifties so I was a little taken aback when I learned that the glee club director is this beautiful."

If this kid was just five years older, Marley's face would have turned scarlet. Link is polite, and Marley likes that he had initiated a conversation with her because it might mean that she's an approachable authority figure, but Marley's not sure as to how she feels about being treated as Link's peer rather than as his director.

She doesn't know Link - she does know that he'd winked at Kitty during his audition, so she isn't all that surprised by his flashing a smile and trying to flatter her - but she's pretty sure that he wouldn't flirt with any of his other teachers.

Naturally, Link's compliment places another worry in Marley's head - will these kids ever be able to take her seriously? She's already gotten two of these students opting to do her job in leading this club, and she's already afraid that having graduated only a few months ago makes her an inexperienced and probably terrible director in the eyes of the club - sure, it might be good for the glee club to see Marley as a friend, but she still wants to be looked to as a mentor, as somebody who's older and wiser and in a position of authority.

"Uh, thanks." Marley smiles, her mind still preoccupied with insecurity over her lack of leadership skills. "You better get going. I don't think you'd want to waste your team's time."

"Of course not." Link smiles again - it's really weird how he can smile over and over again yet never stop smiling, but Marley's getting off track.

She offers him a nod to say goodbye, and then walks around him, further into the choir room, back to chairs, to talk to Landon, who for some reason is still sitting on his chair in the middle row and reading an old, worn out novel.

"Hey!" she says softly, since Emily and her team are still in the choir room. "How was I?"

Landon looks up from his book, looking a little pissed off, but thankfully Marley's not one to be easily affected by somebody else's mood-swings.

"How were you what?" he asks.

"At giving my first lesson." Marley grins, eager to hear his answer despite the fact that she thought she was horrible.

"I don't know." Landon shrugs, shutting his book and clutching it with both hands, still holding the yellow piece of paper as well. "I wasn't exactly paying attention."

Marley's smile fades but she tries to hide her disappointment.

"So, what is this for?" Landon asks, holding up the torn, South America-shaped piece of paper.

Marley sighs. She knows that Landon is an honest person, and she was hoping for an honest answer on her teaching skills. She was hoping for validation from someone she considers somewhat of a friend.

Exasperated, Marley explains to Landon that he's on Vienna's team and that he needs to go to the auditorium immediately, not being able to shake her uncertainty, worry and insecurity.

* * *

"You take a lot of pictures?"

Since Emily is focused on enthusiastically scribbling down things on a clipboard, Sean has got nothing to do but lean over to strike up a conversation with Zara while he waits for this meeting to start. Frankie was his first choice, since he's already friends with her - well, as friends as a guy can be with somebody as two-faced as Frankie Cavallini - but she's is too busy with pacing around the choir room while on her cell phone, gossiping to one popular girl named Erin about another popular girl named Cheyenne.

Talking also gets his mind off the grumbling coming from his stomach.

Zara, relentlessly pushing a button of her camera with her eyes fixated on the screen, probably looking through pictures, lets out a barely audible, "Hmm."

Sean can't help but be slightly amused by her reaction.

"I'm Sean, by the way." Sean says, as Zara briefly glances at him only for her eyes to return to the screen of her camera. "You probably know that - we have shared some classes since freshman year but I wanted to clarify just in case."

"Okay."

Sean pauses for a second and turns to look at Frankie, who is still walking around the choir room.

"You can't trust that skank - do you know what she says about you behind your back?" Frankie asks Erin or whoever. "I ran into her last Saturday at the bowling alley and she was all over Derek and she totally begged me not to tell you..."

"So," Sean turns to Zara again. "Lemme guess - photography is art, it offers you a whole different perspective of things, it is a way to share the beauty you see in the world and all those pretentious psuedo-philosophies."

"Nope." she shakes her head slightly. "I just like to remember things. Things that mean a lot to me, things that are interesting or pretty..."

"I'm guessing that thing is flooded with selfies, then?" Sean smirks, even though Zara rolls her eyes at his comment.

"Am I supposed to be flattered that you've referred to me as a thing?"

Sean chuckles. "Not a compliments person. And here I was about tell you how much I enjoyed your audition on Friday."

When Zara doesn't respond, Sean teases her. "Come on. You're not gonna tell me I was great too? That's kind of how a conversation works."

"Kind of just sounded like a whole lot of noise to me." Zara says flatly, finally setting her camera on her lap without even glancing at Sean, who turns to eavesdrop - which really doesn't count as eavesdropping - on Frankie's conversation.

"I'd love to hang out on Friday!" Frankie exclaims with as enthusiastically as a person can. "Yeah, I'll see you then. Love you!"

Frankie hangs up the phone, turns to all of whom are still seated on their red chairs - that Blaze Foster kid who almost nobody likes, that Joey Dooley kid who almost everybody finds annoying, Zara who almost nobody knows of, and Sean himself - and says, "Oh my God, Erin is such a whiny bitch. It felt like it took me hours to shut her up after all of that complaining."

As Frankie rubs her temples, Sean quips, "Great way to talk about somebody you love. Makes me wonder what you say about me when I'm not around."

Frankie narrows her eyes at Sean playfully in a mock glare, and retorts, "No off switch. Smirks when he's making fun of you. Boring in bed."

"That's low." Sean responds with a raised eyebrow, laughing.

With none of the other three members of their group, except for a seemingly inquisitive Joey, paying attention to the conversation, Frankie takes the seat in between Sean and Zara and continues, saying, "So, we're totally losing this dumbass assignment. Got a kid who hasn't even hit puberty leading us."

"Maybe she'll surprise us." Sean says half-thoughtfully and half-sarcastically, although Emily does seem a bit too timid, regardless of how nice she comes across.

"She looks like she got dressed by a slutty nun."

Sean raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Slutty nun?"

"Yeah." Frankie breathes. "A prude on the top, easy access from the bottom."

Sean laughs.

This is why, in spite all of her insincerity and dimwittedness, Sean enjoys being in Frankie's company - she never fails to surprise you with her words, as long as you're not the type to get easily offended by crude jokes.

"Seriously," Frankie laughs to. "What is the point of wearing a knitted winter sweater with a skirt that short? To look innocent but hope that people see you as something sexual at the same time."

"I'm pretty sure she can hear you, Frankie." Sean warns, watching Emily, who seems to be growing more and more sad. He feels a little bit bad, since Emily seemed pretty excited a few minutes ago.

"Oh, shit." Frankie mutters, still amused. "Eh, it's not a big deal. I say stupid crap all the time."

"You're right." Sean replies. "She'll find that out in just a few minutes."

Frankie gently elbows Sean in the ribs as Emily finally walks over to the front of the seats, her clipboard clutched tightly with both hands as she dons a false but bright smile.

"So, I made a list of the songs that we could do," Emily begins, briefly shaking the clipboard in her hands to draw attention to it, "but I thought that maybe we should all get to know each other before we make any decisions."

For a moment, Sean wonders if she might be attempting to manipulate this group into liking her. This is a pretty effective a pretty effective tactic, especially for such a seemingly guileless little girl.

After a short, sort of nervous and sort of excited pause, Emily states, "Maybe we should start by going around to say a random fact about ourselves. Let's start with you," she points to Blaze at the back.

"I think this is pointless." is all Blaze says.

Frankie, scrolling through her feed on Instagram, interrupts Emily's little game to exclaim, "Oh my God! Allison got a perm! That's why she's not at school this week."

Emily ignores Frankie's laughter, as Sean momentarily sneaks a peek at the screen to find out what a generally flat-haired Allison looks like with a full head of curls, to turn to Zara and say, "Your turn."

"Okay..." she sounds bored. "I'm a Sagittarius, but I totally should have been born a Gemini."

An astounded Joey lets out a loud gasp, turns around to look at Zara and pretty much _yells_ , "I can't believe you actually buy into that nonsense! Astrology is so unscientific and illogical that referring to the subject as a _psuedo_ -science would be way too kind."

Frankie ignores him to ask, "Why would you wanna be a Gemini? Those people are cray-cray."

" _I'm_ a Gemini." defends Emily.

Upon feeling his stomach let out a soft growl, Sean loudly asks, "Is anybody else hungry?"

"Until just a few minutes ago," Joey continues his rant, "I was naively in denial of the existence of human beings so small-minded to place their belief in astrology-"

"Small-minded?" asks a surprisingly calm Zara, looking at Joey.

"They have two personalities!" Frankie exclaims, though Sean isn't too sure as to what she's on about. "It's the whole point of being a Gemini."

Emily frowns, probably taking this conversation way too seriously. "I don't have two personalities."

She then sighs loudly, and says, "You know what? I'll go. I'm Emily, in case you didn't know that. I'm a freshman, I love Broadway musicals, I hate the _Star Wars_ prequel trilogy, my favorite color is purple and my least favorite is pink-"

" _Of course_ your least favorite color is one that, for our generation, has become pretty much representative of femininity. The color pink is essentially a mascot for women." Zara complains bitterly. "You are so weak-willed that you've bought into our society's patriarchal and misogynistic notion that all things feminine are silly or inferior."

"That's the most pretentious assessment of a _color_ I've ever heard." Sean laughs, while a confused Emily asks, "I'm misogynistic because I don't like a certain color?"

"Wait," Frankie looks up from her cell phone, "What does 'pretentious' mean? Like _before_ tentious? Wait- what does 'tentious' mean?"

"Not a word." utters Blaze.

"Our previous topic of conversation hasn't yet reached it's end." whines Joey.

"Seriously, I'm starving." Sean groans, glancing at his watch to check the time. "Can't we keep playing this game at BreadstiX?"

"This is _not_ a game, it's an exercise." Emily shoots Sean a killer stare, which simultaneously surprises and amuses him. She then retracts her statement by stomping her foot and whining, "Why is nobody playing my game?"

"Astrology!" Joey shouts randomly. "We're talking about _astrology_!"

Sean feels like he's watching the most lackluster yet entertaining episodes of _Friends_ ever made.

"I'll pay." Sean offers, still hungry. "I just really need to get some food in me."

"Okay, okay!" Emily holds up both hands, her clipboard in the left, trying to gain some control of the room. "Maybe we should focus on one thing at a time. We could..."

"We could eat." Sean suggests with a shrug, his lighter mood fading the hungrier he grows.

"We could tell each other why we're here." Emily smiles, ignoring Sean. She mutters to herself, "Since nobody seems to remember that they willingly signed up for a singing club."

"I'm here as a form of punishment." Blaze speaks up again, in a flat tone. "I think it's working."

Emily looks at him, disappointed, as Joey says, "How in the world can your month of birth determine your personality? There is absolutely no reason behind that concept. I don't like to use fowl language but it's complete hogwash."

Emily let's out another groan and looks at Joey.

"Yes, astrology is hogwash." she tells him, probably hoping for him to move on from that topic. "Now, why don't we get to know each other by-"

"On and _on_ about the getting to know each other and about being hungry." Joey complains, very ironically. "When are we going to stop fixating on those things?"

Sean scoffs. "So, you heard me and chose to ignore me?" he asks Joey, regarding his hunger.

"Why don't we get to know each other by talking about what we're good at?" Emily finally finishes the question Joey had interrupted. "Besides singing, of course."

"Sure. Whatever." Frankie mutters, hitting Sean in the face with her hair by flipping her hair onto her right shoulder to take a selfie, as she holds her cell phone in front of her face. "Making fun of Allison Richter's perm would totally be more fun, though."

Finally, Joey forgets all about astrology to show off by answering Emily's question. "I have an eidetic memory, and I'm the fourth smartest kid in school - sometimes fifth but Kayla Henry's inconsistent work ethic is to blame for that - I go to magic camp almost every summer and I've never won less than third place in any of their competitions. I am part of a group of national champion cup-stackers, I'm great at lacrosse and at archery, and I'm _almost_ able to walk a tightrope."

"Can I go next?" Sean raises his hand enthusiastically. "I can eat a whole barn when I'm hungry. Wanna see me do it?"

"If you're not going to take this seriously..." Emily begins, rolling her eyes.

"I would if I could just get something to eat."

"Guys, I'm really, really trying to get to know all of you so that we can work well as a team." Emily pouts. "It would really be great if you'd put in some effort as well."

Sean decides that she's made a fair point and says, "My uncle owns a restaurant."

"We were talking about our talents." Joey states. "Can we please not get sidetracked and leave _another_ subject without proper closure?"

"I was suggesting that we continue this whole 'getting to know each other' thing over a _free_ meal." Sean finishes, looking at Emily.

"Fine." she decides. "It's not everyday you get free food."

"Hope you guys like Japanese." Sean grins, as everybody gathers up their belongings to exit the choir room.

* * *

Vienna is used to being the one in charge.

Being the person to hand out orders instead of taking them has become a part of Vienna's life, and of who she is, and she is the kind of person who sticks to what works for her.

That is why Vienna had agreed to go up against that Emily girl, because she is a leader and not a follower, and because it is clear that this glee club needs a leader, and that Marley Rose has already proven to be a weak one.

Vienna stands on the stage in the auditorium, leaning on the piano with the elbow of her left arm propping her up, as she casually moves her eyes around the space in front of her to take a good look at her teammates.

She's glad that Tate and Link are on her team – she's never really had to _work_ with Link before but she knows him more than just well enough – but the fact that she has no idea as to how to get everybody else to work together doesn't intimidate her at all.

Except for the fact that she's stuck with Halley Akerman.

Vienna doesn't know of any single human being who is not at least a little intimidated by Halley Akerman; even Blaze is afraid of her, and he happens to be the guy who ninety-nine percent of the student body finds incredibly scary.

That little fact speaks volumes.

Landon Holt seems a little spacey, but Vienna doesn't know enough about him nor the new girl to decide whether or not they'd be easy to work with.

"We're doing _Uptown Funk_." Vienna decides quickly, interrupting Link's conversation with Tate and Sara, and causing Landon to snap out of La La Land and Halley to look up from her cell phone. She doesn't want to waste any time on meaningless chit-chat and wants to dive straight into the work, so that she can escape this rehearsal and head to basketball practice. "Based on what I remember from all your auditions, I don't think the song is out of anybody's range. It's also great to dance to, so it'll make for a killer performance."

She smiles, even if just to come across as a warmer team leader, and asks, "Is there anybody here who can't dance?"

There is no answer for a moment, and Sara breaks the silence by shyly asking, "Are you from Canada?"

" _What_?"

First thing Vienna's learned about the new girl: she's incredibly stupid.

"You can't honestly think that's a Canadian accent." Tate murmurs, half-interested, as Vienna nods in agreement.

Link, probably hoping to get onto Sara's good side so that he can get into her pants soon, responds with, "It's an innocent mistake that anybody can make."

Vienna begins to ask her question again, but Landon interrupts her by telling a story. "When I was twelve I went to Saskatchewan for my cousin's Bar Mitzvah. He met with a car crash on his way to the party and died in the ambulance truck."

Landon's story is met with silence, mostly because he spoke so flatly, but all Vienna can do in response is roll her eyes and sarcastically say, "Fascinating story, Landon, but-"

" _Fascinating_?" Landon asks, sounding a little pissed off. "It was horrible! I thought that the death of my _favorite_ cousin meant that Ian would get to come back with me and I could see him every day, but even after he passed, long car rides made him nauseous."

Vienna has no idea what the fuck is going on.

First thing she's learned about Landon: he's fucking _nuts_ , enough to completely distract Vienna from what she was going to say. There was definitely a question she wanted to ask them…

Link, always one to know what to say, replies, "I'm so sorry, Landon. That must have been really hard for you."

How does this kid do it?

Tate, always a major realist, raises both of his hands in the air and asks, "Are you kidding me?" He probably doesn't realize that Link is just trying to be nice and thinks that he's surrounded by not one, but _two_ psychos who believe in ghosts.

"If you're not from Canada, then-"

"That is literally the most obvious Australian accent in the world." Halley interrupts Sara's question, her voice ringing with annoyance and her tone condescending – the exact way she had sounded when correcting their algebra teacher just this morning. "Australians sound like lazy, tired British people because their accents descended from a drunken slur. Everybody except for _you_ knows that."

 _Nobody_ knows that. Vienna didn't know that until now, and she's Australian.

Halley finally finishes off her lecture with a rhetorical question. "Are you an idiot?"

"Uh…" Sara drawls uncomfortably. "One time I put bottle rockets in the microwave, so I guess _sometimes_ -"

"Are you _seriously_ answering that question?" Vienna questions with a slightly snarky tone.

Sara shrugs, and Link, now staring at the screen of his cell phone, announces, "Team Emily is literally out at a restaurant right now, eating sushi. Joey told me."

"So?" Vienna asks. "We've got an assignment to do."

Next to not getting to be in charge, Vienna's not use to losing. She may not be the stereotypical Monica Geller-esque, overly competitive control freak but Vienna's not one to take this sort of thing lightly, and she's certainly not a slacker.

In fact, she's a perfectionist, and even though the members of her team are very distracted, she knows that they're talented enough to be a part of the _perfect_ performance.

"We've got plenty of time." Tate says. "I mean, if the other team gets to just hang out and do something fun, I don't think it's much of a risk for us to do the same. It doesn't sound like they even care about this assignment."

"Yeah." Link agrees. "I think Tate makes a great point."

"We should write a murder mystery novel set in a high school." Landon suggests with an enthusiastic grin. "We should find the classroom that would provide the fastest route to Principal Sylvester's office through the air vents that wouldn't lead the murderer to getting caught. If it can be proven possible in real life, then the story would be believable."

"That's actually a really good idea for a story…" Tate wonders out loud.

"It's actually a really good idea for a _murder_." Vienna jokes in response. She then opens her mouth to deny her teammates permission to do anything but start working on their performance for Friday, but Halley beats her to it.

"Look, I've set aside _this_ hour of every weekday for glee club and _only_ glee club. I had to find time in a crazy busy schedule." she argues, slowly, as if explaining to kindergarteners. "So, we're not going to use the rest of this hour for anything except for rehearsing and completing our _glee_ assignment that we were _assigned_ to do."

Okay, so Vienna had been completely wrong – she might actually _need_ Halley on her team, since everybody else seems to suffer from some form of an attention deficit disorder and as small as she is, the girl is great at commanding attention, even if it is only because she scares everybody into wanting to listen to her.

"Exactly." Vienna nods. "Now, can everybody here dance?"

Her question is met with bored sighs and some groans.

This is going to be a _long_ week.

* * *

Marley is used to sitting alone at a cafeteria table. She doesn't like it, though she doesn't dislike it, but she does want to speak with Mrs. Schuester in particular, despite how awkward she feels eating her turkey sandwich in a cafeteria filled with her former teachers.

"Marley?"

Marley looks up to see her old physics teacher, Mr. Donovan, standing at the opposite end of the small round table, looking down at her.

"Mr. D." she attempts to say while offering a polite smile, only to realize that her mouth is stuffed with lettuce and turkey and wheat bread.

"You know, Principal Sylvester said that an alumnus named Marley Rose is starting a new club here," he rambles - he _always_ liked to ramble about nonsense, even when he was supposed to be talking about The Doppler Effect or another equally boring concept - while Marley covers her mouth to swallow her food, "and I said that I know you. Nice girl; not great at science but a hard worker."

"To be fair, science rejected me like a bad organ transplant." Marley replies, relieved that she doesn't have to go through learning physical science anymore.

"Hey, Lyle, what are you doing over at this table- oh, hi." greets a very familiar-looking young woman. Marley recognizes her as the new English teacher who she'd met last week, but she can't quite remember her name. "You're Marley, right?"

"Yeah..." Marley smiles awkwardly, trying her best to remember this woman's name.

"I'm Janelle, if you don't remember."

"Right. Sorry." Marley replies.

"How's your club going?" Janelle asks, taking a seat beside Mr. D. "Glee club, right?"

Before Marley can answer, Mr. D says, "I was in a glee club back in high school. Well, not so much _in_ the club as I was more of a spot boy for it, but I had fun."

Janelle chuckles at Mr. D's story, while Marley answers, "It's okay, I guess. We only had one lesson so far, yesterday, but I don't think I'm cut out to be a director or a teacher."

"I thought the same thing when I started teaching." Mr. D responds. "It was mostly out of resentment for the job though. I studied for so many years to get a master's degree in theoretical physics because I wanted to become a scientist. This was the only job I could get and even though I graduated a long time ago, and I've been working here ever since, I'm _still_ paying off my student loan."

"Yeah, I wanted to become a publisher or an editor or an author but clearly it's not working out too well." Janelle adds. "Being a teacher isn't that bad, though. You get to talk a lot and throw your weight around..."

These stories make Marley worry about her own future. She still dreams of becoming a famous singer, and she really wants to make enough money for her mother to not have to work anymore so that she can live a comfortable life, but all of her hopes and dreams seem unlikely of becoming a reality right now.

Marley has always known from experience that even if your life's goal is something small and simple, like getting married and having kids, it takes a lot of work, and a lot of help from the rest of the work, in order to achieve exactly what you want. She knows that deep down, the only - or at least, the _real_ \- reason for her return to McKinley to reboot the glee club is only because she would have had nothing to do and nowhere to go this year if she didn't, and to make herself feel like less of a Lima Loser by finding herself a real job that is somewhat related to want she truly wants to do.

She may end up really loving being the director of the glee club, but Marley knows that she'll never feel truly happy or fulfilled if this is what she's stuck doing for the rest of her life.

"Marley, I'm sorry I'm late." Marley sees Mrs. Schuester rush over to the table. She looks at Mr. D and Janelle and says, "Hello."

"One student pranked another by building a yogurt bomb in his locker and there was yogurt all of the floor." Mrs. Schuester explains, talking quickly. "I waited for two minutes, but since the janitors were nowhere to be found I cleaned it up myself."

Mrs. Schuester pulls out a moist towelette from her bag and begins to the surface of the table. She only cleans her own part of the table, which means that she's progressed a hell of a lot since Marley last saw her for counseling back during the tenth grade after the whole 'fainting at Sectionals' debacle.

Marley - _and_ her sandwich - jumps as a huge chicken is slammed onto the table, by none other than Coach Beiste, who takes a seat on Marley's right, opposite to Mrs. Schue, with Mr. D on her other side.

"Hey, Emma, the rest of you people..." she greets, earning a smile from Mrs. Schuester and a "Hey!" from Janelle.

"How did Mr. Schue pick a leader for the glee club?" Marley asks Mrs. Schuester. She remembers that Artie was the one who had picked Blaine when she had just joined, but she knew from Tina and Artie's stories that Mr. Schue had appointed Finn and Rachel as co-leaders.

"He simply went with those who were more willing." she answers. "They made good leaders; because they genuinely wanted to do it, they put their hearts into their jobs and worked hard to make the glee club great."

That would be Emily; she was far more willing to be a leader for the club than Vienna was.

"I say you pick someone who has leadership experience, and is tough." Coach Beiste says, chewing on a piece of chicken. "I'm tough on my teams, to the point of them crying at the end of every practice, but that's why we never lose."

And, based on all that she'd heard last year and the year before that as a student of this school, that would be Vienna.

Both of them make a point, though; the perfect leader doesn't go easy on anybody which drives them to work as hard as they possibly can to perform well, and the perfect leader puts their heart into what they're doing and provides a nice, friendly atmosphere to help everybody get along which makes the team as a whole _want_ to work harder.

Marley sure as hell isn't that leader, but she thinks that the two girls vying for the position as the captain of the New Directions could fit the bill.

Marley attempts to clear her thoughts by redirecting her focus to the conversation right in front of her.

"...so Daniel ended up getting peanut butter all over the floor and I literally had a panic attack..."

While Mrs. Schuester tells her story of the antics that her son had gotten up to the previous night, Marley glances at the other faces at that table and wonders if this is how she'd going to spend all of her lunches for the rest of the year, with her former physical science teacher, a friendly girl she had just met, the wife of her old glee club director, and the very scary football coach and P.E. teacher.

It feels kind of weird, but it's not that bad.

* * *

 **Songs featured :**

 **Break Free** by Ariana Grande ft. Zedd (piano version) - sung by Halley Akerman.

 **In My Life** by The Beatles - sung by Tate Burnett.

 **Young and Beautiful** by Carrie Underwood - sung by Sara Castillo.

 **Paris (Ooh La La)** by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - sung by Frankie Cavallini.

 **Little Things** by One Direction - sung by Joey Dooley.

 **Lonely Boy** by The Black Keys - sung by Blaze Foster.

 **Say Something** by Austin Mahone - sung by Link Foster.

 **Suit and Tie** by Justin Timberlake ft. Jay Z (Tori Kelly's acoustic cover version) - sung by Vienna Harper.

 **It Wasn't Me** by Shaggy ft. Rikrok - sung by Landon Holt.

 **Enchanted** by Taylor Swift - sung by Emily Lee.

 **Someone to Watch Over Me** composed by George Gershwin (Katharine McPhee's _American Idol_ version) - sung by Zara Nasser.

 **Gold Steps** by Neck Deep - sung by Sean Yamazaki.

 **You Belong With Me** by Taylor Swift - sung by Emily Lee.


	5. Chapter 3 part 2

**Chapter Three:**

 **The New Blaine**

part II

* * *

 _ **A/N: I highly recommend re-reading**_ **Strangers Waiting** _ **, before chapter four is published.**_

 _ **A/A/N: I had to add scenes into this chapter and make some parts longer, because it was so much shorter than part I. I'd gotten to the point that I wanted to but this part was about three quarters of the previous one, so publishing was delayed partly due to this reason.**_

 _ **A3/N: Another plothole I've created - Kitty going to law school. I'm not sure how American law school works, but most movies, books and TV shows have shown me that in the US, you've got to graduate from college before attending law school which is something I struggle to wrap my head around since where I'm from, you attend university for about four years to earn a Bachelor of Law degree (of course, you've got to pass the bar exam in order to practice law, but that's a slightly different story).**_

 ** _A4/N: The other day I was going through old asks that I had answered and I realized that there was so many little things that were going to happen in this chapter and the previous one that I'd cut out. I tend to change my mind a lot as I'm writing stories and because I can never make up my mind, I tend to hint at and set up many options for how things are going to end, which quite often creates plot twists, e.g. I'll constantly provide reasons as to why one person would belong on one career path only to decide at the last second that they'd do better and be happier doing something else and have them change their mind at some pivotal point. I really don't want to make a lot of mistakes that I've seen been made in a lot of SYOC stories (and obviously on_ Glee _), where one storyline is abandoned or ended abruptly and without proper closure in favor of kicking off a new storyline, which is why I've planned out what I'd like to happen, but I have this bad habit of getting carried away with different idea and in not being able to make up my mind as to how I want things to end. I've also noticed that a lot of authors, even professional ones, care more about a storyline playing out the way they want it to rather than determining how storylines would play out based on the characters involved. I think keeping the characters completely true to who they are (as opposed to simply how they're meant to be portrayed) is what is most important and in deciding how to conclude things for them and tie up all of their plots, which is why I ask creators so many questions. Obviously, I'm the one responsible for keeping these characters in character regardless of how many questions I ask - I've already dove into these characters, and I'm currently splashing around in them, but I've got to swim even deeper to explore their deepest, darkest depths, to explore the places in their minds that are too human and complex to be able touch on in a submission form. Of course, I can't let myself fall into the trap of drowning in one character that it would make writing another too difficult or awkward._**

 ** _A5/N: I'm still looking to accept background characters. I need about one or two to keep at hand if/when certain characters quit glee club, just in case this happens around the time of a competition, and it would be better for them to have been around (perhaps as friends, enemies or love interests as some of the members of the glee club) from earlier on in the story rather than to introduce them out of nowhere at a convenient time as if to say, "Look! A McKinley student who can sing and wants to join the glee club but for some reason hasn't existed until now." If you're willing to submit a background character, try to make them quirky to serve as a form of comic relief and/or the kind of person to cause trouble amongst others, whether intentionally or not._**

 ** _A6/N: I absolutely hate writing musical numbers. It's so frustrating. I kept trying to visualize a performance in my head and I had no idea how to write them down when I actually did, especially when it came to dance moves. I really don't know how to describe them, especially when they're supposed to be rehearsed performances (a spontaneous song would likely be easier). That said, I'm probably going to cut down on the amount of musical numbers there are in this story, because my descriptions of them are crappy and they just kill my writing mood. You can probably tell that I got lazier and more annoyed as I was writing the performances, which is why Team Emily's performance is more descriptive than Team Vienna's (it also didn't help that Vienna's team's song was so long, lyrics-wise). Although, Team Emily was easier to write in general, as the characters had more chemistry, so I think all the scenes involving that team is longer._**

 ** _A/7N: Sorry that I didn't upload this on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning like I said I would. Before I went to bed on Tuesday, it looked like nobody had read the scenes that had been added to part one, and I had lectures all day yesterday and had to work from four, so when I got home last night I was starving and exhausted and had no time or energy to make sure this has been edited to (near) perfection before publishing._**

* * *

 **Side characters:**

Sabrina Ford (Halston Sage)

* * *

"Francesca!"

"Katrina!"

Frankie smirks as Sabrina Ford tries to hide her annoyance behind a shaky, plastered-on smile.

"I see you've reached a new level of petty." Sabrina raises an eyebrow, referring to Frankie having pretended to forget her name. The blonde girl's eyes trail own to totally judge Frankie's outfit, which is totally rich since Sabrina doesn't know shit about fashion and lives in that sweaty Cheerios uniform. "Wouldn't it make more sense if you just walked around naked?"

"I'm not surprised you're still obsessing over me, Serena," Frankie just wants to remind this ho of how irrelevant she is, "since you've always been super jealous of my smoking hot bod and of how everyone's worlds literally stop when I walk past them, but-"

"Think again." Sabrina lets out a short laugh. Shit, why is she laughing? "According to most of the student body, you are officially disposable."

What the fuck does 'disposable' mean?

"That means that out of all us popular kids, you're the one we could do without." Satan continues, talking to Frankie like she's a four-year-old, which makes Frankie want to rip the extensions out of this bitch's hair. "Your oh-so-sweet, 'I'm-everybody's-best-friend' act means that you're on good terms with the fatties and the uggos and the losers who come to school just to learn, which makes you completely ordinary. I am officially the girl everyone wants to be or to get with because unlike you, I'm unattainable. Nobody can touch me."

Frankie scoffs. "Please. Nobody _wants_ to touch you from fear of being turned to stone. You're a bitch."

" _You're_ a bitch." is the only insult Sabrina can pull out of her ass.

"Uh, not to anybody's face." Frankie retorts, although even she knows that her response was pretty lame. "I'm bubbly and sweet and I talk to _everybody_ , even if they have braces or a totally noticeable zit. That's why everybody loves me."

"Well, your method to gain popularity has backfired." Sabrina smirks. "Especially now, that you've joined glee club, you're almost one with the losers. You're like the bridge between the popular kids and the unpopular kids, and when some loser wants to get to somebody as out of their league as me, they use _you_ , because you thought it would be a good idea to be nice and friendly instead of following the rules-"

"To become a boring-ass basic, bitchy popular girl like you?" Frankie raises an eyebrow. "I don't want to be the teen movie villain people love to hate on."

"It's too late." Sabrina shrugs. "Everyone knows that you only dated Vienna Harper last year to become even more popular and everyone is starting to look at you as more of a walking STD than as the rich girl who throws great parties and gets along with everybody."

"So? I'm still popular. A lot of people still love me." Frankie replies, trying to stay calm even though she's a little pissed off. There's no way people admire Sabrina the teenage bitch more than they admire Frankie. "And even as a member of the dorkiest club in school, I can totally become _unattainable_ -" Frankie hopes she's using that word right, "and remind everybody that I'm way above their level. And I won't have to drop friendly Frankie for feisty Frankie to do it."

Sabrina rolls her eyes and flashes Frankie one last fake smile. "Just came over here to let you know."

Frankie doesn't smile or even say goodbye to Sabrina as she watches the cheerleader walk off. Sabrina may be more popular than Frankie – for the first time since their little competition had started last year when Sabrina was just a freshman – but Frankie knows for a fact that people know what a snob Sabrina is and would take Frankie's side over hers any day. The school slut also happens to be the school sweetheart, and if the friendliest girl in school glares at somebody like they're the spawn of Satan, the rest of the student body is totally gonna do the same thing.

Once she's sure that she's glared at the back of Sabrina's head long enough to be seen, Frankie slams her locker door shut and slowly struts down the hallway, looking out for somebody to chat with before she heads off to her second glee club rehearsal as a part of Team Ella or Emily or Juliana or whatever.

She sees Landon, who she's shared a few classes with for the past few years, at his locker, talking to Zara, a fellow member of Team Eleanor.

She can totally turn them into Frankie fangirls. She can definitely prove to herself and to Sabrina that she's still adored.

"I can email you my step-by-step instructions on how to harvest ectoplasm safely," she hears Landon say, as she approaches the pair. This definitely doesn't sound like any of the conversations Frankie usually has with her friends.

"Don't be ridiculous, Landon. Where would I keep mounds of ectoplasm?"

"That'll be in the email too."

"Hey, guys!" Frankie smiles as widely as she possibly can.

All Landon and Zara do is turn to give Frankie a weird look.

"I have to go." Zara tells Landon, as if she doesn't even see Frankie, and she heads off. Frankie's not used to being ignored, and she frankly wanted to talk to Zara more than to Landon, but she's going to play this cool.

"So, Landon," Frankie begins, "don't you think it's kinda funny how two people can be in the same grade for years and hardly ever talk to each other and then suddenly they end up being the only two seniors in the same club?"

"Like the universe is trying to tell us something." Landon says.

"Really?"

"No."

Landon pulls the slipping strap of his backpack further onto his shoulder and begins heading to the choir room for glee rehearsals, since Team Salty Ex-Girlfriend gets the choir room today. Frankie follows him, even though she should be walking in the opposite direction.

"If it wasn't obvious, I was flirting with you." she states, walking briskly to keep up with him.

"It was obvious." Landon replies, and before Frankie can say anything, he continues, "I just don't like you."

" _What_?"

A few people turn the heads to give Frankie rather questioning looks, because of how loud and high-pitched she was.

"That's impossible." she says, trying to sound unaffected by the thought of somebody not liking her. " _Everybody_ likes me."

"No."

Can't he at least _try_ to be polite about not liking her? Frankie's always polite to people _she_ doesn't like, even if it's only to get _them_ to like _her_.

"Well, why not?"

She sure as hell hopes that question sounded at least a little less carefree.

Landon stops walking, just a few feet away from the choir room – and thank God for that, since the guy takes the biggest strides, which make him nearly impossible to keep up with – and turns to face Frankie, his eyes glancing over her body for a moment.

So, he's not a _complete_ robot.

"You're obviously attracted me." Frankie observes with a sigh of relief. "That means that you _do_ like me, which means that _everyone_ still likes me, which means that I have nothing to worry about."

"Everyone's attracted to you." Landon replies in a bored tone. "That doesn't mean they like you."

"What do you mean?" she asks, a little lost.

"You're a beautiful girl-"

"Obvi- I mean, thank you."

"-also clearly fake." Landon shrugs carelessly. "I don't have the patience to deal with people who are always playing games."

Frankie wishes that Landon would be just a little bit fake with her. She's not used to being brushed off.

On that last note, Landon disappears into the choir room, leaving Frankie to her thoughts.

Could Sabrina be right? Sure, Landon is only one person, and Frankie barely knows him, but Frankie's interaction with him could only be the beginning of her downfall.

Frankie sighs to herself. She _has_ lost it – her peers have now woken up to learn that Frankie's sweet and bubbly personality is only an image that's helped get her name around, so she's reduced nothing but the route the losers that take to get to the popular kids.

Somehow, Frankie's got to become less warm and approachable, and to do that she has to be seen with, and _only_ with, at least for a while, somebody who's the opposite: cold, unapproachable and down-right off-limits. Preferably somebody who everyone knows, to give these kids something to talk about, which would skyrocket Frankie's popularity status back to where it belongs.

Somebody like Halley Akerman or Blaze Foster, whose names are known by everybody, even though nobody gets a taste of either of them.

Her idea makes perfect sense - if Frankie can at least be seen talking to somebody that almost nobody is capable of getting close to, people are going to wonder what makes Frankie so special that she's the one who seems to be on friendly terms with a well-known loner, which would make Frankie more mysterious, and no longer capable of being used as a bridge to get to the other popular kids.

The unpopular kids are going to have to use the people Frankie surrounds herself with to get to _her_ , and that's the dream.

* * *

Emily just wants to be payed attention to.

If she's being completely honest with herself, she doesn't like the group of people she'd been stuck with for the week, although she still wants _them_ to like and respect, and, most importantly, listen to _her_.

Joey, the insensitive troll who had humiliated her in front of Link just yesterday, is performing a magic trick involving a deck of cards with Frankie Cavallini, who clearly doesn't understand the concept of class when it comes to her fashion sense and the way she carries herself, and Sean Yamazaki, who seems a little obnoxious and has way too many piercings, making up his audience, the trio seated on the ground. Blaze is sitting on the opposite side of the stage of them, on the far left just outside of the wings, staring into space and appearing to be deep in thought. He looks miserable, and even though Emily knows from hanging out with his brother that he _always_ looks that way, she can't help but be bothered by his 'I don't care about anything' attitude. And then there's Zara who apparently couldn't have been bothered to even show up.

Joey tosses an entire deck of cards onto the stage, which makes Emily physically cringe at the mess he's making, and he reaches over to Frankie and pulls a card out of her _hair_ which even Emily has to admit seems like a pretty cool trick.

"Is this your card?" Joey asks, in a slightly over-the-top, melodramatic tone, which sounds incredibly awkward coming out of his mouth.

Frankie doesn't answer, but instead lets out a happily surprised, "That's amazing! How did you do that?"

"Can't tell."

Emily wants to tell them that they should start getting to work on their performance, but she's afraid that they'd think of her as bossy. At the same time, she doesn't want anybody here to think of her as a pushover, as somebody who's too weak to make a good leader.

She's a little insecure and unsure, but she knows she's a good leader. She's done this before, but with a far more focused and less unruly group of people - in fact, every group she'd had a level of authority over in the past has been a gathering of nerds, who had always followed the rules and worked hard and listened when they were spoken to.

"What are you guys doing?" Zara finally enters through the wings on Blaze's side from somewhere backstage, eyeing the sea of cards scattered across the stage, which Sean is now gathering into a deck.

"We're playing strip poker." he jokes, proceeding to shuffle the deck of cards. "Frankie's losing, as you can see."

Frankie playfully hits his shoulder and says, "Shut up."

Emily thinks she should say something about Zara's tardiness - after all, this is her chance to throw her weight around, that she _can_ reprimand somebody who does something wrong and that is not only an accommodating leader, but one who is capable of being tough when the situation calls for it.

"You were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago." Emily says nervously. She's got to work on hiding her anxiety better.

When Zara doesn't reply, Emily continues, "You shouldn't have kept us waiting, or you should have told us that you were going to be late. We have an assignment to do."

"Uh-huh."

Emily doesn't know how to respond to that. _But_ , nobody is going to take her seriously if she doesn't law down the law, which is a part of the job description. And Sara had been right before - if Emily wants something, sometimes she's got to speak up for it.

Taking that into consideration, Emily tells Zara, "Well, since you're here, we should probably get started, it that's okay."

"If that's okay?" Blaze speaks up for the first time this rehearsal. "Aren't you supposed to be the boss of this group?"

"I was holding off on doing what I'm supposed to because I think I'm such a badass."

The fact that he has a point doesn't make Emily less mad at him for pretty much mocking her in front of a bunch of people who are supposed to show her a little bit of respect, and if it had she probably wouldn't have fired that passive-aggressive attack on him. But it's fine, because both Sean and Zara had let out small, short laughs and even Blaze seems a little amused.

"I was thinking that we could do _New Romantics_ by Taylor Swift." Emily suggests. "The other day a few us had slushies thrown in our faces just for joining this club and the girls who did it said that glee club is for losers. I think doing a song that puts a positive spin on being a misfit and an outcast will show that we already really get what being in glee club is all about."

"We've been in this club for two days." Joey says, standing up from where he had been sitting. "I don't think we'll be expected to know that at this point."

"You know, I don't like Taylor Swift. She's always making fun of girls like me, but when people make fun of her she says that woman have to support each other and all that crap." Frankie complains, while scrolling through something on her cell phone. "Like, if I wanna wear short skirts and high heels, I'm gonna do it. It doesn't make some mannish, nerdy prude better than me."

"I haven't heard that song, but it can't be that bad." Sean says with a shrug, still sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Frankie and building a tower out of Joey's deck of cards. "I mean, it's not like we're doing a Justin Bieber song."

"There would be nothing wrong with doing a Justin Bieber song." Zara retorts, making Emily cringe with her defense of Justin Bieber. "He's adorable and talented, and most people only hate him because it's cool to."

"Adorable?" Sean asks, and the same time Emily raises an eyebrow with the question, "Talented?"

Zara simply narrows her eyes at Emily and then shifts her gaze to Sean.

Sean's card pyramid, which only had two rows to it, suddenly collapses as he's about to add another card, and he grunts, "Dammit. Hey, let's play blackjack for money."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" Frankie replies, while Joey says, "I'd really like to have my cards back."

"Sean, give Joey his cards back." Emily instructs politely, her patience running out. "And, _focus_."

"You sound exactly like my elementary school teachers. One of them even thought I had AD... whatever. I don't remember the rest in this language." Sean rambles. "We should blow this off to go bowling. I haven't done that in a while."

"That depends." Blaze says from the other side of the stage. "Do you have a relative who owns the bowling alley?"

"Can we _please_ start practicing?" Emily begs. "Here's the sheet music," she walks a few steps closer to the piano, on which the sheet music she had printed the previous evening are waiting. "It's not a difficult song to learn. And we've only got today to rehearse on the stage - tomorrow we're back in that tiny choir room."

"Thank God." Frankie's sighs in relief. "There's no WiFi in this auditorium and the lighting is shitty for selfies."

Emily is grateful to see Sean, Frankie and Blaze standing up and the entire group walking towards her to collect the papers she's handing them as they reach a few feet in front of her, although she's indifferent to the fact that Joey is finally being given his cards back from Sean.

Frankie, the first to receive and take a look at the sheet music for _New Romantics_ , complains, "I can't sing down to a D3, so we should pick a different song. These lyrics are totally boring."

"I'm great at D3s." Zara replies, as Emily heads over to take a seat at the piano. "Great projection, great control. You can call me the _control_ -to."

Zara grins very widely at her own joke, despite the fact that nobody laughs, and Frankie asks, "Can I call you a dork instead?"

"The guys can sing the verses since it's lowest part of the song." Emily says, getting ready to start playing. "Sean, you go first, and we'll see where things go from there."

* * *

Tate is in heaven.

Sure, he may be fatigued, breathing too heavily to be able to bare any longer and covered in not only his own sweat, but that of Sara as well, but this sure is worth it.

Glee club is his jam.

Music, dancing, singing, no siblings. Work feels like play. He could do this every day without taking a break; he could dance until his legs turn to jelly, or sing until his throat hurts like hell and he feels like his lungs are just barely functioning, and he would still be the happiest person in the world.

This may not be the kind of competitive sport that he knows his dad is secretly hoping he would take up so that he can become less gay, but Tate sure as hell loves it, and he loves having something all to himself with no siblings around to overshadow him.

"Come on, let's run through this a few more times." Vienna instructs, being the only person in this group to stand strong, everyone else laying across the floor of the choir room in exhaustion.

"I can't." Landon complains. "I'm already afraid that I'm going to have to have my legs amputated thanks to all this dancing."

"Yeah, I'm worn out." adds Halley, stretching her arms out in front of her. "I've still got hockey after this; I don't want to fall asleep at my desk tonight when I've got to finish up on my homework for the week."

"It's Wednesday." Tate tells her, turning his head to look at her sitting with her sitting behind him, legs stretched out in front of her, ankles crossed, propping her upper body up. "Why would would you want to finish this week's homework today when you've still got tomorrow to do it?"

"I was talking about _next_ week's homework." Halley replies. "My homework for this week has already been done, naturally."

" _Naturally_." Vienna repeats teasingly, heading over to the chairs to take a seat, while Link asks, "Do you have a social life at _all_?"

Halley doesn't reply, but Vienna finally reluctantly agrees, "Fine. We'll take a break for a couple of minutes."

Tate lets out a sigh and let's himself fall backwards onto the floor.

"Is anyone here interested in donating money to a campaign working to stop the hunting of reindeer?" asks Landon randomly, after a few moments of silence.

"Why not focus on the animals who are on the verge of extinction, like rhinos?" Link questions. "Reindeer aren't even close to being endangered."

Sara snorts. "Yeah, 'cause they don't exist. We're not kids anymore, Lance. Stop using fairy tales to hustle us into giving you money."

"First of all, my name is Landon." Landon says in a flat, but very clearly pissed off tone. "And secondly, reindeer _are_ real."

"Right, reindeer are real." Sara laughs as she replies in sarcasm. "Better donate money to save Rudolph." Sara pauses and her eyes shift from person to person. "Oh my God, reindeer are real, aren't they?"

Vienna simply nods, while Tate quips, "Not the ones with really shiny noses."

"Good one." Link laughs loudly, almost awkwardly. Tate knows that his joke really wasn't _that_ funny, but he does appreciate that response, even if Link seems to only be laughing out of politeness.

"Maybe we _should_ keep rehearsing." Halley suggests irritably. "I want to get this rehearsal over with before Sara sneezes and I end up inhaling some of her stupidity."

"Hey," calls Sara, the anger dripping off her face. Halley's joke was mean, but _that's_ the sort of thing Tate finds funny, truthfully.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean that, Sara." Link tells Sara with a smile. "It was an innocent mistake, anyway."

"A couple of minutes are over." Vienna states, after very quickly glancing at her watch.

"How many minutes was a couple of minutes?" Tate asks, raising an eyebrow. He doesn't think he's ready to stand up, or at least dance, yet.

"Two."

"I need water." Landon complains, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, as he shakes his empty red water bottle around.

"Well, we're only going to stop rehearsing once you've died from dehydration." Vienna says sternly, standing up and clapping her hands together. "Come on. Let's get back to work."

Tate doesn't know where Vienna gets all of her energy; he'd never admit it out loud, but as much as he loves and admires V, he's kind of envious of her, and of how perfect she is at everything, even though he knows that her success doesn't come without her sacrificing fun or free time. Frankly, he's envious of lesbians and bisexual girls in general, since they have a much easier time post-coming out in this school than queer guys do, and Tate is only protected by bullies by his Cheerios uniform and sharp tongue, but it sucks, really, to grow up surrounded by a bunch of superstars for siblings and to also be constantly one-upped by his friends.

Tate feels guilty for feeling this way, but he can't help it. He can try to make up for it though, and he does so by springing to his feet, rummaging through his sports bag for his wallet, and offering, "Anybody want a slushy? It's on me."

Vienna looks at him and says, "We need to keep practicing."

"We've already got this number down." Halley replies with a shrug. "And that's coming from me."

"Yeah, I could use a free slushy." Landon agrees, as Sara nods. "My throat is dry and I'm sweating like a pig."

Tate gestures to the three of them as he shoves his wallet into the pocket of the pants of his Cheerios uniform and says, "See. We'll start practicing again as soon as we drink out slushies."

"Fine." Vienna shrugs. He's not trying to sabotage her or anything - he really wants her to win this assignment - but he _does_ think she needs a break, even if it's just to drink a slushy, and he can't stop internally beating himself up for being jealous of his best friend and all of her victories.

"I'll come with you." Link offers, standing up, as Tate is about to head out the door. "You'll probably need some help carrying six slushies."

"Okay." Tate mutters, as he exits the choir room and heads down the hall way slowly, not stopping to wait for Link.

He appreciates the help, but he doesn't really want to be alone with Link, since he's known the guy through Vienna for years, and he's always thought of Link as really... weird.

Link is always so hyperactive, and Tate's always seen him as a socially awkward nerd, even though Vienna insists that Link is a charming little Casanova. Tate has a hard time seeing Link as charming, since he's really never seemed to be able to hold a normal conversation.

"So, slushies..." Link begins, as he jogs up to Tate to keep up. "It's kind of weird how some guy somewhere decided to make a drink out of crushed ice." This is _so_ awkward. "It's great, though. A really innovative idea. Although, it kinda sucks having one thrown in your face. I bet that guy is tossing in his grave right now, since so many slushies go to waste at this school. Maybe I should look him up... the guy who invented slushies."

Link pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and Tate walks faster when he sees the slushy machine in the distance, staring at him from all the way down the hall, hoping to make this as quick as possible so that he doesn't have to listen to Link ramble on about slushies.

"His name is Omar Knedlik," Link continues, making Tate want to kill himself, "and according to an extract from Wikipedia he kept his sodas in a freezer when his soda machine broke down which turned them into slushy, and that's where he got the idea to invent a machine that produces frozen drinks. That is really interesting."

As the pair approaches the slushy machine and Tate digs his hand into his pocket to get hold of his wallet, he says, "Maybe you should look up the word 'interesting'."

"Ha ha ha _ha_!" Link roars with laughter, as Tate inserts enough money for six slushies into the machine, wondering who the hell _literally_ shouts "Ha ha ha," when laughing.

What a strange guy.

Tate fills up the first cup, and hands it to Link. "Hold this."

Link takes it, but holding the freezing cold cup of slushy isn't enough to keep him from talking.

"Thank you for the slushies. It's really nice that you offered to buy them for us. Really, really nice gesture."

"Calm down." Tate replies, handing Link a second and then a third cup. "It's not like I'm buying you guys cars or something."

"No, I know. I just appreciate it," Tate places the fourth cup on the floor, "you know, a normal amount... I have an appropriate amount of appreciation for a cup of slushy."

"Were you home-schooled or something?" Tate asks, holding the fifth cup in one hand while filling up the last. It's a stupid question, since Tate's known for years that neither Link nor his brother were home-schooled, but Link seems so nervous that Tate can't help but wonder.

"No. Why do you ask?"

Tate bends down to pick up the cup of slushy he'd set on the floor, and holds all three cups together as he and Link begin to walk back to the choir room. "Well, you're kind of awkward, although I've heard stories that say the opposite."

"Stories?" Link asks nervously as Tate is saying the last word of his sentence. "What kind of stories?"

"Don't worry." Tate chuckles, although his mind is preoccupied by how cold these slushies are and how he can't wait to set them down. "They're good stories, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Yeah." Tate mumbles, looking down at his shaking hands and trying his best not to spill any slushy as he walks. "Yesterday at cheerleading practice, I think at least seven Cheerios were gushing over how amazing you are, even though Lisa Ogden said you dumped after only two dates. Their boyfriends agreed you're a dick though."

Link clears his throat as the pair turn into the choir room, causing the four people who'd been waiting for them to immediately stand up and rush towards them, as he says, "Well, those guys don't know me well enough to pass that judgment."

"Thank you so much for this!" Halley exclaims, grabbing a slushy from Tate. "I'm already dying from heat stroke."

A parched Landon accepts his drink from Tate and immediately pushes aside his straw to down half the cup of slushy all at once.

"Crap!" he shouts, massaging his temples with the fingers of his one hand, holding his slushy in the other. "Brain freeze."

"Well, what did you expect when you chugged almost that entire cup of ice in one go?" Vienna asks casually, as Link hands her a slushy and she heads over to take a seat.

"You don't understand - this is a really bad sign." Landon tells her. "The last three times I experienced a brain freeze something terrible happened. The first time my brain freeze _killed_ my grandfather." Tate rolls his eyes at that. "I was eight years old, and I had a cold so I didn't go to school that day, and my moms and dad-" _Moms_ and dad? "- left me at my grandpa's, and he took to me a frozen yogurt shop and we shared a coconut and mango and salted caramel froyo, and-"

"Let me guess," Halley interrupts him, "grandpa caught your cold and died a few weeks later?"

"No, he got hit by a bus as we were walking home because he stopped in the middle of the road to pick up a penny." Landon lets out a deep sigh. "I was so traumatized by what I saw that I walked to the nearest bar and got drunk on cheap, free whiskey." After a short, solemn pause, he says, in an upbeat tone, "It tasted really good, from what I remember."

Halley stares at him in disbelief. "You were _eight_."

"I know how old I was."

After receiving all the entertainment he can from Landon, Tate shift his attention to Link and Sara, as he stands in the middle of the choir room and takes a sip of his slushy.

"You're an amazing dancer." Link says, wearing a dazzlingly bright, plastered-on smile. "Are you busy after this rehearsal? It'd be great if we kept practicing - I think I'm kinda rusty and there are some moves you might be able to show me."

Sara narrows her eyes and tilts her head, possibly in confusion, possibly in discomfort, and drawls out a stressed, "No..."

"We could get pizza afterwards." Link suggests, his smile never faltering. "You can't say no to pizza, right?"

"Uh, no... but, um..." Sara stammers nervously. "I have to go home and... wash my hair."

Link furrows his eyebrows slightly, but quickly recovers from his confusion by offering Sara a warm smile and saying, "Maybe another time, then."

Tate decides that maybe Link _is_ the effortlessly charming flirt that Vienna claims he is, and that for some weird reason, he's only socially awkward and dorky around guys. He's probably just one of those guys who find it easier to get along with girls - Tate is the same way.

He's still weird, though.

* * *

High school girls are awesome.

Back in middle school, all girls seemed to strive to be just one kind of girl thanks to their insecurities. In high school, girls' insecurities push them to become more individualistic, to find themselves and adopt their own unique styles.

Everybody likes vanilla ice-cream, but Link loves the fact that he's suddenly being offered a variety of new flavors to try out.

This glee club alone has got a little bit of everything. Emily might be a little less basic than plain old vanilla - at least she's filled with chocolate chips, which Link would never turn down - but even though he's always thought of Emily as being really cute and potential girlfriend material, being amongst a whole new set of girls makes Link want to explore his other, more _exciting_ options right now.

Halley's rocky road is _way_ too much for Link, but even if she wasn't the kind of girl he could only handle in moderation, he sees her as strictly off-limits to him because he can't go after the girl Joey's been crazy about for eight years.

Sara had been a little difficult to flirt with yesterday - there was something strange in the way she had handled his advances, but Link can't quite put his finger on it. All he can tell himself is that Sara's behavior is exactly what you'd expect from a rainbow sherbet.

As much as Link would like to have a spoonful of Zara's mint chocolate chip, he's a little afraid of what Blaze would do if Link had to treat one of his only friends as something expendable.

But, most of all, Link wants a taste of Frankie's chocolate, and based on all he's heard about her, she's very generous when it comes to sharing. And you can never have too much chocolate.

It also feels really good not being the one to make the first move, for once.

"How did you get to be so cute?" Frankie asks, playing with the collar of Link's shirt. Thankfully, her tone is not in any way condescending; although nine times out of ten, Link has put the moves on a girl and she's all over him, but he's dealt with his fair share of senior chicks who fluff his hair and tell his his cute as if they're talking to a puppy. Link is glad that Frankie's not one of those girls.

She's a little cheesy - Link watches her run her fingers through her hair and smirk at him.

"It takes a lot of hair gel, but I'm glad you appreciate the effort." Link winks, leaning against somebody's locker for support. He greets a few girls he knows (he even dated one of them) from middle school with a friendly nod as they pass by.

"You know," she's going to ask him out; he can tell based on her tone, "I've been dying to check out that new place that's, like, a roller rink and a trapeze class mushed into one."

"Frankie."

Ugh, what is Blaze doing here?

Link doesn't really think that going to a roller rink slash trapeze class would be much fun, but _the_ Frankie Cavallini had just begun to ask him out - he knows that it's not like he won't get the opportunity to go out with her again, because Frankie isn't exactly hard to get by any stretch of the imagination, but Link can't help but be a little bit mad at Blaze for interrupting what could eventually lead to really, really good post-date experiences.

"Do you mind if I borrow my brother for a minute?"

Frankie smiles up at Blaze polite and shrugs. "Sure. Go 'head."

"Thank you." Blaze replies. Link, at the same time, shakes his head and tells both Blaze and Frankie, "You know, I don't think that would be necess- Ow."

Blaze pulls Link away from Frankie and into the middle of the hallway, which Link knows is going to irritate a lot of people trying to pass by.

"What are you doing?" Blaze demands, which not only confuses Link but further aggravates him.

"Minding my own business." he retorts bitterly. "Do you spend your free time hunting me down just to give me a hard time?"

"You were leaning on _my_ locker, first of all," Blaze continues his pointless rambling, as Link looks over to the locker he'd just been leaning against and sees Frankie chatting with two hockey players, flirtatiously twirling a few strands of hair around a finger, "and secondly, do I need to remind you that you do not date your friends' exes?"

Link rolls his eyes. "Viennna and Frankie dated a _long_ time ago."

"They dated less than a year ago."

"And rules like that don't apply to people like Frankie." Link argues defensively. "She sleeps with everybody. She's _everybody's_ ex. And that is a stupid rule, anyway. For all we know, Frankie could be The One for either one of us."

"You don't believe in The One and all that crap." Blaze hisses, narrowing his eyes.

Link tears his eyes away from Blaze for a moment to look at a trio of two girls and a guy who are glaring at the back of Blaze's head, annoyed with Link and him for standing in the middle of the hallway.

Link offers them a warm smile and says, "I'm so sorry about this," ushering Blaze aside so that the pair of them can get out of the way.

Once he feels he's in a spot where he's less noticeable and more difficult to overhear, Link asks, "Do you know how many girls there are in glee club who I have a clear shot with? One, and it's Frankie."

"Frankie is not the only girl in glee club who you've got a shot with," Blaze says with an eye roll, "and even if she was, there are plenty of girls in this school who aren't in glee club."

"I like to have options within every group I am a part of."

"What about Emily?" Blaze suggests. "You're already friends with her. I'm sure she'll go out with you."

"Emily's been slushied twice in the past two weeks." Link explains. "I'm waiting for her perfect, sweet, model student reputation to kick in before I make a move."

"Are you serious?" Blaze asks with a raised eyebrow. He shakes his head and proposes, "Okay. What about Halley Akerman?"

"Everybody hates Halley." Link reasons. "I can't be seen with someone everybody hates."

"Sure, Halley may be a horrible person, but-"

Strangely, Halley walks past and mutters a quick, sarcastic, "Thanks," before disappearing past Blaze into the army of students crowding the halls.

Blaze looks past his shoulder and then back at Link, twice, saying, "-and also, kind of creepy, but she's smart, which is probably somehow helpful to your reputation."

Gosh, it's like Blaze doesn't understand the basics of the social dynamics of high school.

Link doesn't state the obvious by pointing out that he doesn't need Halley by his side to prove to the kids in this school that he's smart, and instead goes with an argument he's pretty sure will appeal to Blaze.

"Joey really, _really_ likes her." he states. "He has since he's known her, apparently. Going after Halley wouldn't be fair to Joey."

"So, you won't go after the girl Joey likes because he's your friend," Blaze questions, "but you'll willingly flirt with Vienna's ex?"

"That's different. V and Frankie are exes for a reason. I'm pretty sure that if Vienna still had any feelings for Frankie, they'd be together." Link speaks condescendingly, even though he knows how much his tone would irritate his brother. "Joey _likes_ Halley. Present tense."

"The new girl, then."

"Sara's weird..." Link replies. "I asked her out and she blew me off to wash her hair." Link pauses, and after deciding that he and Blaze could argue all day and that they've both got classes to get to, he chooses to put an end to a this conversation. "I already told you - Frankie's the only girl in glee club who I've got a shot with."

"Even if Vienna's over Frankie, she's never going to forgive you if you hook up with her or something." Blaze says sternly. "A promise is a promise, and we agreed that we will not go after each other's ex-girlfriends."

"What you mean to say is 'one another's ex-girlfriends'." Link says rather stupidly, since he's putting himself at further risk of being beaten up by Blaze. "And in my defense, I was only eleven when I agreed to those terms."

"End things with Frankie or I'll do it for you." Blaze grunts.

"Fine." Link says, even though he's lying through his teeth. He and Blaze part ways, and Link heads to his History class, checking his watch to make sure that he's not going to be late.

He's not going to end things with Frankie. Things haven't even started with Frankie.

Blaze doesn't get it.

He doesn't understand that if Link doesn't distract himself with Frankie then he might go crazy with all the feelings and thoughts that have clouded his mind lately.

Link needs to focus on _girls_ , especially on girls like Frankie, to distract himself from boys, particularly boys who are really dreamy, effortlessly sassy cheerleader who he can't get out of his head. He needs to keep thinking about girls, and only girls.

Girls, girls, girls.

* * *

Vienna's enjoying this more than she wants to admit to herself.

Link can tell better than she can.

He's known her for the four years they've both lived in Lima, Ohio, when his mom thought it would be a good idea for Link and his siblings to meet with her two bosses' kids, and Link and Blaze and their sister Malia thought it was dorky and pointless at the time, but they made a friend and they're grateful for it. She's always been so focused, too focused to realize that she actually feels for something or somebody.

She's really quite oblivious to her own feelings sometimes.

"Landon, you know your lines, right?" Vienna checks.

She's so happy, telling people what to do and making sure every thing is perfect. Link almost feels bad about breaking their pact, or at least planning to.

 _Almost_. It's a stupid deal, anyway. Link doesn't think Blaze nor Vienna understand that one day, there'll be no girls left for either of them because Link would have dated them all first.

"Sure." Landon shrugs carelessly.

Vienna raises an eyebrow at him. "Yesterday, you made up your own lines. They didn't even make any sense."

"I thought that making up my own lines would be a fun and intellectually stimulating activity." Landon replies seriously.

"Let's hear you first." Vienna commands. "I need to make sure you won't screw this up for all of us."

Landon clears his throat. " _'Cause I have walked five-hundred miles, and I will walk five hundred more, just to be the man to walked a thousand miles to fall_ -"

"Are you trying to be funny or should I be seriously worried?" Vienna asks. Yep - she's so, _so_ happy reprimanding Landon.

"I say we scrap _Uptown Funk_ and get our Proclaimers on."

Sara smiles and nods at Landon's suggestion. "I like that idea."

Vienna shoots Sara a glare, to which Sara replies, "But obviously I'm wrong."

"Okay, it's officially three-fifteen exactly." Vienna announces, staring at her watch. "Let's get started."

"I have to leave early." Link states. "I have a date at four. I mean, it's a study date but still."

"Cancel it." Vienna orders. "This is our last rehearsal. We're all going to rehearse for at least forty-five minutes."

"I can't cancel. She's got a late cheerleading practice or something."

"Yeah, at five." Tate says, picking at his fingernails, him and Halley being the only two people to have taken to their positions on stage. "Which Cheerio are you talking about."

"Bryn." Link answers. "She's a sophomore. You know her?"

Tate chuckles a little bit. " _Know_ her? She's my sister."

Link almost chokes.

Dating Bryn would totally be weird. Okay, maybe not necessarily _weird_ , but Link doesn't _want_ to date Tate's sister.

"I can cancel if it bothers you." Link offers Tate. "I mean, if you don't want me dating your sister, I understand."

"No, she can date whoever she wants." Tate shrugs. "She's kind of a bitch, actually, so I really don't care what happens."

What a weird way to talk about your sister.

"Vienna's right, though, so I should probably just... reschedule." Link pulls his cell phone and immediately starts to slam on the keys, texting Bryn that he can't make it and that they should go out some other time, although that last part is a lie, since he just really doesn't want to go out with Tate's sister. To soften the message, Link adds a few emojis, and then puts his phone away, looking up to see Vienna looking at him weirdly.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asks.

Link shrugs. "Sure."

She pulls him aside, into the wings, while the other four remain on the stage, Sara and Tate striking up a conversation while Halley and Landon sit quietly on their own.

"Are you okay?" Vienna asks.

Link shrugs and tries his best to play it cool. "Okay? Of course I am okay. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You blew off a date without much thought." Vienna reminds him. "You were willing to cut some of our rehearsal time to attend said date, knowing that I would probably be pissed at you for it. It's like you don't want to be here, but you also don't want to go out on that date for some reason."

"I just got caught up in the moment, making plans with Bryn," Link explains, praying that she doesn't think that anything is _going on_ with him, "and then I told you and realized that... leaving early would be unfair to the group. And especially to you, since captaincy is at stake." After a pause, he adds, "I just don't want to ruin our friendship, you know? Some people date their friends' exes, some people blow off doing something with their friends for a date... some people hook up with who their friends used to used up with... I don't want to be that kind of person... who dates their friends exes, or something worse."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Vienna asks rather crossly. "Do you think that I'm going to go out with one of your one hundred ex-girlfriends? Because I would never."

"Well, even if you did, I wouldn't mind." Link says. "And if it did bother me, I'd forgive you anyway."

"Are you kidding me?" Vienna asks. "That is the _worst_ thing somebody could do."

"Worse than... murder?"

" _Yes_." she answers quickly, as if the answer is obvious. "Betraying somebody you care about is worse than _anything_."

"Right." Link nods nervously. "Of course."

"I'm really confused." she tells him. "Why did you blow off Tate's sister? Because I'm not buying all that bullshit about you feeling like its the end of the world to blow of the last five minutes of this rehearsal."

"Oh, um..." Suddenly, the perfect lie hits Link like a ton of bricks. "I thought that you dated her. When Tate said that Bryn is his sister, I thought that maybe...at one point, you said you were dating her."

"I never dated Tate's sister." Vienna states flatly. "I'm pretty sure she's straight as a pencil."

"Okay." Link nods. Vienna turns to head back onto stage, but he stops her.

"So, you really want to be the leader of this club, huh?" he smiles.

Vienna sighs. "I just... don't think anybody else is up for it."

"Maybe, but you're also loving this."

"I'm probably just used to always being the leader." she continues. "It's better this way. I'm not great at taking orders."

"It's a great thing that you're spending time on something you love that's not sports."

Vienna rolls her eyes. "I still think this club is a distraction for me. And it's really just being in charge that I enjoy. Glee club is totally dorky, and-" Vienna stops suddenly and shouts, "What the hell are all of you doing?"

Link turns to face the stage and walks out of the wings.

Tate, Sara and Landon freeze. They'd been running across the stage, and all three are close to the edge, about to either jump or fall off.

Halley sits on the other side of the stage, cross-legged, with her face buried in a book, and without looking up, she says, "These three dumbasses want to jump of the stage to see who can land the farthest."

Vienna slaps her forehead and then glares at the trio, while Link simply grins in amusement.

"We thought it'd be fun." Tate says with a goofy smile.

An adorable smile, really, although Link knows that if that sentence had come from anybody else, he'd see them as idiotic.

Vienna scoffs. "To _kill_ yourselves?" She then sighs. "Fine. Go ahead. I'll be looking forward to your visits from beyond the grave to tell me that I was right."

* * *

Frankie wants Blaze.

Not as in _wants him_ wants him. Okay, maybe she kind of wants him wants him, but she kind of wants _everybody_ in that way.

Frankie wants Blaze to help build her an aura of mystery, to make her a little more hard to get. To remind everybody that even though Frankie Cavallini is the most down-to-earth and friendly popular girl in McKinley High, she's still way out of everybody's league.

It had come down to Halley and Blaze, and well, everybody hates Halley, so it might hurt Frankie's reputation to be seen all chummy with her. Blaze is the safer option by default, because he's got just as many smitten admirers as he does enemies or people who think he's a tool.

Frankie can totally see through Blaze. After all, she's a chameleon, the queen of pretending to be something she's not. She can spot people who aren't who their images say they are from a mile away. It's like they've got a specific smell...

"Why are you looking at Blaze like you wanna eat him?" Sean asks, taking a seat beside her at the back of the choir room at the beginning of their last rehearsal.

"I have plans for him." she answers carelessly.

Sean lets out a sort of chuckle. "This isn't about what Sabrina said yesterday, is it? Because she's probably just lying to you to get into your head. And if you think that Blaze can help you seem a little more difficult to reach it's not going to work. He's too closed off and unapproachable - you can't just flirt with him and expect him to fall for everything you say."

How did Sean manage to figure out exactly what Frankie is thinking so quickly? She shrugs off the thought - he's smart, but he obviously doesn't have her superpower for reading people like road signs.

"I'm not going to flirt with him." Frankie says. "It's not going to work. He's like a block of cement - he doesn't even look at me. _Everybody_ looks at me. Even that giant walking ice cube Landon, who had the nerve to call me fake, checked me out."

"But, Frankie," Sean replies slowly, "you _are_ fake."

"Shh! Nobody needs to know that." she makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. "I have a plan. Sabrina says that losers only hang out with me because I'm approachable and it would help them to get close to people who are more popular than me even though people more popular than me should _not_ exist."

"I get it." Sean nods, and Frankie is sure that he does so she doesn't explain any further - she needs to hang out with somebody more approachable in order to get close to Blaze, like his brother.

"No, no, _no_!" yells a worked-up Joey, who has been arguing with Zara since they went out for sushi the other day and Joey kept insisting that Zara was totally stupid because she said something about being a Sagittarius. Somehow their conversation had led to one about... well, Frankie doesn't know what it's about. She just finds joy in watching Joey, who is clearly bothered by the fact that he can't make sense of anything that Zara says, argue with Zara, who just shares her opinions and gives no fucks about how Joey would take it. "How could any of this be possible? Do you reckon that some... angel of love... just randomly cast a spell on you and your soul mate when you're born?"

"Are you referring to Cupid?" asks Zara, halfway through chewing on the skin around her fingernails, which Frankie thinks is totally gross. "Because he's not real."

"So you understand that Cupid is not real," Joey says, leaning on the whiteboard, staring at Zara who sits in the front row, on the far right, "but soul mates are. How are soul mates determined? Who gets to decide who your soul mate is? And what happens if you end up with the wrong person? This theory is _filled_ with logical fallacies."

What the fuck is "fallacies"? Who the hell even talks like that?

"The universe decides who your soul mate is based on who fills in your gaps best." Zara says calmly, and very, very certainly, as if she knows everything about everything.

"Ah, of course. The universe decides." Joey drawls sarcastically. "Because the universe has a brain, and is capable of keeping up with a very complex system, ensuring that everybody on this Earth has a soul mate." He sighs dramatically and shakes his head. "You ignorant, small-minded-"

"I am not small-minded." Zara snaps, sounding pissed off yet extremely calm at the same time. "If anything, you're the one who's small-minded because you can't open your narrow mind even a little bit..." When Zara twists her body and swings her left hand over her chair, Frankie is distracted and shifts her attention from Zara's argument with Joey to her hand. There are scratches all over it, and the skin of her knuckles are torn open. Her hand is not hurt enough to make it impossible to use, but it is hurt enough to be scarred.

Frankie wonders if Zara had bitten into her skin using her teeth, although knuckles are a pretty weird spot on your hand to chew.

She leans over to Sean and asks, "What do you think happened to Zara's hand?"

Frankie looks over at Sean, who follows her gaze to look at the back of Zara's hand, just before Zara shifts her position and sets her hand on her lap.

"I don't know." he shrugs. "Maybe she just likes really rough sex." Frankie lets out a short laugh, as Sean adds, "Zara seems like a random person to be... wondering about, don't you think?"

"Does she, though?" Frankie disagrees. "I mean, she _is_ really shady."

"Shady?"

"Yeah." she nods. "Before our rehearsal yesterday she was talking to Landon and then she said she had to leave." Frankie shrugs, to show that she had no idea why. "I thought she was gonna go to our rehearsal, but she showed up late and didn't even say where she was in between talking to Landon and showing up at our rehearsal."

"Why didn't you just ask?" Sean questions.

"Because I was distracted by Joey's magic tricks." she says. "He literally went from a four and a half to a nine the second he pulled that card out of my hair. It was totally hot."

When Sean simply nods and doesn't reply, Frankie turns to look at Joey once again, who is flustered and scribbling math-looking crap on the whiteboard in an attempt to figure out how this whole soul mates thing works.

"Roughly half of American marriages end in divorce." Joey explains looking at his scribbles. "How does one determine who their soul mate is? Because it seems that, if soul mates do exist, a lot of people are making mistakes in realizing who theirs are."

"You just know." Zara says with a shrug. "Or you notice a weird coincidence, like, they're humming the tune of a song that you had it your head all day and it just hits you that you're meant to be."

Joey turns and looks at her, annoyed. "You _just know_? Poppycock."

"Hey, there are people who said they've met somebody and just knew instinctively that it was meant to be." Zara says, although Frankie is lost on what she means. "On every season of _The Bachelor_ , you can just tell who they're going to pick in the end, because... well, _vibes_."

"Vibes?" Joey asks, as if that is the most stupid. His face suddenly lights up, and he says, as he spins around to keep scribbling, "Yes, vibes! Maybe we should look into our cognitive processes and the physiology of our brains to see if a telepathic connection between one and one's soul mate exists and is responsible for these supposed vibes one experiences when around one's soul mate..."

"Please stop saying ' _one_ '." Frankie complains, only to be ignored by Zara who asks Joey, "Why are you taking this so seriously? For all we know, soul mates might not even exist."

Joey turns around slowly, and so dramatically that he makes Sean crack up. "Might not even exist? So, you've had me standing here for almost twenty minutes trying to reach a conclusion on a concept that _you_ raised as a topic, and now you decide to agree with me."

"Oh, I'm not agreeing with you." Zara shakes her head. "I'm just saying that I could be wrong about this. You know, you really should relax and accept the fact you might never know-"

"MIGHT NEVER KNOW?" Joey erupts like a character on a sitcom. He pauses and blinks for a second to calm down. "You raise all these questions, you make me think and think and think and think, and then you tell me to accept the fact that I might _never_ get any answers? You are making me crazy, woman!"

"I have a name!" Zara raises her voice. "And for the last time, the first syllable rhymes 'aah' and not with 'car'."

"What's a syllable?" Frankie asks aloud. "Words that mean the same thing, right?"

"Nope." Sean answers. "Those would be synonyms."

"Guys," Emily begins, leaning on the top of the piano with her elbows, resting her head in both hands, "are you done arguing? We've haven't rehearsed much and we don't have much time left to."

"It was _your_ job to keep us under control." Blaze mutters, sitting beside Zara, slouching in his chair.

Emily stands up straight and says, "I just wanted to make sure that nobody felt stifled."

"By doing _nothing_?" Sean asks, raising both eyebrows and lowering them again. He then randomly suggests enthusiastically, "We should rehearse outside! That would be fun."

"Yeah!" Frankie agrees with a smile, while Joey points a finger to Sean as if to agree with his idea.

" _No_." Emily says very sternly, and Frankie is so taken aback by how loud and angry she is that her widen and she shifts backward suddenly.

"All week I've tried to get all of us on the same page, to get us working together without being too pushy or mean or tough but none of you have given me a shred of respect." Emily complains. "I don't want to be the kind of leader who hands out orders without getting to know you but I tried to do just that and none of you were giving me anything back. Working in a team is not only a job for the leader - this is a two-way street and I haven't received any help, or any support-"

" _Nor_ any support." Joey corrects her, holding up a finger.

She glares at him, but continues her rant, turning her attention to Sean. "You have been so playful, and you haven't been able to focus on anything, even for a second. Do you know how frustrating you are to work with?"

"I can't really help it." Sean says defensively.

"And _you_ ," she looks at Frankie, who questioningly points to herself, "spend so much time on the phone bitching about people you call your friends."

"They _are_ my friends," Frankie says with a nod, "and I'm allowed to bitch about them if I want to."

Emily turns to Zara and says, "You showed up late to a rehearsal and pretty much have made _zero_ effort to contribute to this assignment."

"Equals the amount of fucks I give." Zara mumbles.

" _You_ ," Emily hisses at Blaze, "think you're so cool acting like you don't care about anything."

"That really shouldn't bother you as much as it does, though." Blaze replies with a shrug.

"Oh, God." Joey groans. "It's my turn."

"Joey, you are so crazy that I don't even know where to begin with you!" Emily yells, waving her hand about. She stomps her foot and says, "I tried so hard to create a good environment to work in and I really wanted us to get to know one another-"

"No." Blaze shakes his head. "You keep saying that you're trying your best to get to know us when all you've done is sat back and judged us. You literally just proved it with that rant."

Emily lets out a deep breath as she glares at Blaze and after a few moments, says, "I really care about this assignment, and I really care about this club, and I think I could make a great leader, but I can't become a leader if nobody in this team cares enough to try to make things work."

She heads over to the piano to pick up her bag that is laying on the floor beside it and slings it over her shoulder. "I'm going to tell Marley that our team withdraws from this competition."

On that last note, Emily turns her heel and heads out the door.

* * *

"Emily, wait. Slow down."

Emily keeps walking as she hears Sean call out to her.

"Hey." he calls, grabbing her arm as he approaches her. Emily stops, half wishing he weren't so fast and half grateful that someone on her team had actually come to talk to her, and she faces him.

"Pretty awesome how you snapped and went all Incredible Hulk on our asses, huh?" he jokes.

Emily rolls her eyes and turns to keep walking.

"I'm kidding." Sean laughs. "I'll stop. I promise."

"What do you want?" Emily asks, turning to face him.

"I want to apologize, on behalf of all of us."

Emily sighs in disbelief. "Why _you_?"

"Well, based on what you said about Frankie and Blaze, we didn't think you'd listen to either of them," he answers, "Zara said that she thinks _you_ should be the one to apologize, and Joey is a robot who apparently doesn't know how to talk to people when they're having feelings. His words, not mine."

"So, you're apologizing on behalf of yourself, and _maybe_ three others?" Emily questions, folding her arms.

"No, Blaze said that you had a point, and it was Frankie who suggested that somebody apologize to you." he explains, and Emily lowers her arms in surprise. "It's just Joey who I'm not too sure about. But, we did all agree that we haven't exactly made your job as leader of our team easy. We were playful and lazy, and we're sorry."

Before Emily can reply, Sean interrupts her. "To be fair, Blaze did have a point, though. You _were_ kinda judgy."

Emily nods, although she stands by everything she had said. Her rant may have been a childish temper tantrum, but she does feel that she had said what had needed to be said and can't help but be a little bit proud of herself for standing up for herself, in some way.

"I know it sounds stupid but I _really_ want to be captain." Emily sighs, swaying on her feet. "There's no way it's going to happen, now, even if we spend all night rehearsing."

"It might happen. We don't have to give the perfect performance to prove you're a good leader." Sean says. "We're gonna be great - we're a talented group. And if we're still too under-rehearsed to even compare to Vienna's team, I will tell Marley that it was our fault and that we let you down, I promise."

"Really?" Emily asks, staring at the ground.

"Yeah. It's the truth, isn't it?" he asks, and she looks up at him to see him smiling at her. "If she knows how hard you tried to make all of us comfortable and to get us working together despite how crazy and rambunctious were are, she can't _not_ make you our captain."

Emily clutches the strap of her bag and begins to slowly walk towards the choir room. "Thank you."

"It's no problem." Sean says, walking alongside her. "I know we don't have an entire choreographed performance planned like Joey says the other group does, but I'm sure you'll win. You'll get to brag about it, you can run home and tell your parents that you're the captain of the glee club."

"Oh, I don't actually... _have_ parents." Emily mumbles, twiddling her thumbs and trying to sound as nonchalant as she possibly can.

"Really? Me either." Sean replies, weirdly excitedly. He playfully taps her shoulder and says, "See, we're already bonding."

Emily bows her head and laughs quietly, and then realizes something.

She turns her head to look at Sean as the two of them approach the choir room. "You won't tell Marley that I almost bailed, will you?"

"Don't worry." he laughs.

* * *

The atmosphere in the auditorium on Competition Day is far more flat than Marley had anticipated.

The members of Team Vienna, taking their seats in the row in front of Marley seem both physically and mentally drained, while Emily's team comes across as more unenthusiastic about having to perform as they take to their places on the stage. Emily, Sean, Frankie, Zara and Blaze are scattered all across the stage from left to right in no real order - they probably haven't choreographed a dance to the song, which is fine - while Joey is waiting within the wings to start playing the music.

"Whenever you're ready!" Marley calls out from the audience, and after few moments, Emily turns to her left to offer Joey a thumbs up as his cue to hit play.

The track begins to play, and Joey jogs out onto the stage, while Sean moves to the center to sing.

" _We're all bored, we're all so tired of everything_ ," he sings with a bounce to his movements, being the only one on the stage at the moment who seems to be exuding a lot of energy. " _We wait for trains that just aren't coming. We show off our different scarlet letters—_ ," Sean places his hand on his chest as he shakes his head to the rhythm, " _trust me, mine is better_."

" _We need love, but all we want is danger_ ," Blaze sings with Joey, the younger boy singing the higher harmony, as they move to center stage and Sean gets out of their way. " _We team up then switch sides like a record changer_."

" _The rumors are terrible and cruel,_

 _But, honey, most of them are true_ ,"

All six members of the group sing in unison, " _'Cause, baby, I could build a castle out_ _of all the bricks they threw at me_ ,"

Their energy has picked up significantly and they even seem to be having a lot of fun up on that stage.

" _And every day is like a battle,_

 _But every night with us is like a dream_ ,"

It's Emily's turn to sing solo, so she steps forward and takes center stage, " _Baby, we're the new romantics. Come on, come along with me. Heart break is the national anthem_."

Frankie joins her to sing, " _We sing it proudly_!"

 _ **Emily with Frankie, Joey, Blaze, Zara and Sean**_ :

" _We are too busy dancing_

 _To get knocked off our feet_ ,

 _Baby, we're the new romantics_ ,"

" _The best people in life are free_ ," sings Zara, playfully dancing with Frankie as they both sing, " _So come on, come along with me_."

 _ **Zara**_ :

" _The best people in life are free_."

The music slows, as Frankie steps forward to softly sing,

" _Please take my hand and_

 _Please take me dancing and_

 _Please leave me stranded_ ,"

She spreads her arms out dramatically, smiling, " _It's so romantic_."

When the beat picks up, the energy of this group overshadows it, as they all sing together.

" _'Cause, baby, I could build a castle_

 _Out of all the bricks they threw at me_ ,"

Marley can't help but smile, as she watches every member of Team Emily grinning widely and they goofily dance around with one another.

" _And every day is like a battle_

 _But every night with us is like a dream_ ,"

Even though Joey and Zara momentarily bump into one another, the group still appears to be having the time of their lives.

 _ **Emily with Frankie, Joey, Blaze, Zara and Sean**_ :

" _'Cause, baby, I could build a castle_

 _Out of all the bricks they threw at me,_

 _And every day is like a battle_

 _But every night with us is like a dream_ ,"

Emily is spun around by Sean and let's out a short laugh before she sings, " _Baby, we're the new romantics. Come on, come along with me. Heart break is the national anthem_."

This time she sings with Joey, " _We sing it proudly_!"

 _ **Emily with Frankie, Joey, Blaze, Zara and Sean**_ :

" _We are too busy dancing_ ( _ **Frankie**_ : _Yeah_!)

 _To get knocked off our feet,_

 _Baby, we're the new romantics_ ,"

Zara ends the song with, " _The best people in life are free_ ," and the group offers a series of lazy bows.

Team Vienna and Marley applaud the performance as Team Emily walks off the stage, and the six students making up the audience begin to stand up and head towards the stage. Team Emily still seems pumped with energy, which Marley finds nice to watch. In fact, she does think that it might be extremely difficult for Team Vienna to beat that performance - every person on that stage during the _New Romantics_ performance seemed so engaged, so lost in the song, and despite their clear lack of rehearsal, they genuinely seemed to have been having the time of their lives on that stage, and that's what this club is about.

Joey remains hidden in the wings of the stage, waiting to hit play, while his five teammates find themselves seats.

Vienna, unlike Emily, seems to have choreographed a dance for her group's performance, and they're all wearing black sweatpants, white t-shirts, and sneakers. The members of her team are meticulously fanned out across the stage, as though they had measured the spaces between them, in contrast to the haphazard manner in which the members of the previous team had placed themselves.

All six students have their backs facing the audience, with Vienna and Tate in the middle, Link and Halley on their respective sides, and Sara and Landon on the outsides of their formations. Sara turns her head to her left and gives Joey, who's out of Marley's sight, a thumbs up.

The boys sing softly, and low, in unison as soon as the music begins.

 ** _Tate, Link and Landon_** :

" _Doh,_

 _Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh,_

 _Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh,_

 _Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh,_

 _Doh doh doh, doh duh,_

 _Aaaaaaow!_ "

All six performers spin round to face the audience in perfect coordination, and begin to dance as the girls join in so the entire group can sing together.

" _This hit,_

 _That ice cold,_

 _Michelle Pfeiffer,_

 _That white gold,_

 _This one for them hood girls,_

 _Them good girls,_

 _Straight masterpieces,_ "

The dancing isn't complicated, but impressive nonetheless, especially since their vocals don't falter and their harmonies are perfect.

" _Stylin', wilin',_

 _Livin' in up in the city,_

 _Got chucks on with Saint Laurent,_

 _Gotta kiss myself I'm so pretty_ ,"

Tate moves forward to sing, " _I'm too hot_ ," while the others spread out and continue to dance in perfect synchronization behind him, singing, " _Hot damn_."

 ** _Tate_** :

" _Call the police and the fireman,_

 _I'm too hot_ ,"

 _ **Halley, Sara, Link, Vienna and Landon**_ :

" _Hot damn_ ,"

 ** _Tate_** :

" _Make a dragon wanna retire, man,_

 _I'm too hot_ ,"

 _ **Halley, Sara, Link, Vienna and Landon**_ :

" _Hot damn_ ,"

" _Say my name you know who I am_ ," Tate sings, cupping his ear with a hand. " _I'm too hot_."

 _ **Halley, Sara, Link, Vienna and Landon**_ :

" _Hot damn_ ,"

" _And my band 'bout that money_ ," Tate sings as he walks backwards with a rhythmic bounce to trade places with Halley. " _Break it down..._ "

Halley sings softly, " _Girls hit your hallelujah_ ," as the others chorus, " _Ooh!_ "

 ** _Halley_** :

" _Girls hit your hallelujah_ ,"

 ** _Tate, Sara, Link, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Ooh_!"

 ** _Halley_** :

" _Girls hit your hallelujah_ ,"

 ** _Tate, Sara, Link, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Ooh_!"

Halley's voice begins to grow in volume and in power as she continues to sing.

" _'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to ya,_

 _'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to ya,_

 _'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to ya,_ "

" _Saturday night and we in the spot_ ," she sings with the rest of the group backing her up, as Landon steps forward to sing, " _Don't believe me - just watch_!"

The performers dance in a way that mimics the moves done in the music video, though with more energy, and Halley, Tate, Sara, Link and Vienna shout, " _Ha_!"

 ** _Landon_** :

" _Don't believe me just watch_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Sara, Link and Vienna_** :

" _Ha!_ "

Landon is the only member of his not dancing, standing still as his voice ascends.

" _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Hey, hey, hey, oh!_ "

" _Stop!_ " all six performers shout as they freeze for a moment, coming back to life to keep dancing in perfect coordination. " _Wait a minute_."

Sara sings, " _Fill my cup put some liquor in it_ ," before the entire group continues to sing together.

" _Take a sip, sign a check,_

 _Julio, Get the stretch!_

 _Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson, Mississippi,_

 _If we show up, we gon' show out,_

 _Smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy_ ,"

Sara performs a front walkover to take her place, front and center, and sings, " _I'm too hot_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Link, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Hot damn_ ,"

 ** _Sara_** :

" _Call the police and the fireman,_

 _I'm too hot_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Link, Vienna and Landon_** :

"Hot damn,"

 ** _Sara_** :

" _Make a dragon wanna retire, man,_

 _I'm too hot_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Link, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Hot damn_ ,"

 ** _Sara_** :

" _Say my name you know who I am,_

 _I'm too hot_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Link, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Hot damn_ ,"

 ** _Sara_** :

" _And my band 'bout that money,_

 _Break it down..._ "

Link takes over, offering a crooked smile directly at Marley, as he sings, " _Girls hit your hallelujah,_ " while moving his shoulders to the beat.

 ** _Halley, Tate, Sara, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Ooh!_ "

 ** _Link_** :

" _Girls hit your hallelujah_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Sara, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Ooh!_ "

 ** _Link_** :

" _Girls hit your hallelujah_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Sara, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Ooh!_ "

 ** _Link_** :

" _'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to ya,_

 _'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to ya,_

 _'Cause Uptown Funk gon' give it to ya,_ "

 ** _Link with Halley, Tate, Sara, Vienna and Landon_** :

" _Saturday night and we in the spot_ ,"

Vienna and Link trade places, high-fiving as they pass each other.

 ** _Vienna_** :

" _Don't believe me - just watch_ ,"

The group dances to the music, repeating the same move they'd performed about a minute ago.

 ** _Halley, Tate, Sara, Link and Landon_** :

" _Ha!_ "

 ** _Vienna_** :

" _Don't believe me - just watch_ ,"

 ** _Halley, Tate, Sara, Link and Landon_** :

" _Ha!_ "

 ** _Vienna_** :

" _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Don't believe me - just watch,_

 _Hey, hey, hey, oh!_ "

The entire group moves forward to gather at the front of the stage, as they continue to dance, and sing in unison.

" _Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up,_

 _Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up,_

 _Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up,_

 _Uptown Funk you up,_ "

Vienna ends the song with a loud, " _Aaaaaaow!_ "

Marley claps enthusiastically along with Emily's team - that performance was flawless. Marley can't fault their vocals nor their dance skills. It was very clear that Vienna ad made sure that her team had rehearsed to perfection, and Marley assumes that Emily is intimidated by the fact that Vienna's team had presented a technically perfect performance, but she doesn't think that she should be.

Team Vienna's performance was so perfect that it was lacking the authenticity and genuine fun that Team Emily's performance was filled with. But, singing a song about being a happy misfit and being authentic and having fun is not going to help them win Nationals. It's what being a part of the New Directions is all about, but it won't keep the glee club around for another year.

Marley's eyes shift from watching Team Vienna, all six members exhausted, lethargically walk off stage, to staring at Emily sending off each member of her own team with a compliment and a smile.

The whole reason as to why Marley had the glee club do this assignment is because she needs to find a leader for this club to steer the team to victory, and to bring the drive, determination and perfectionism that Marley lacks. But, Marley doesn't want the New Directions to win Nationals at the cost of ignoring what being a part of this wonderful club is about.

Marley hadn't even thought to get to know any of these kids. And she certainly cares more about doing what she loves and having fun than she does about working hard to meet a goal.

It seems that both Emily and Vienna have what Marley is missing, which makes picking a new Blaine for the New Directions so much more difficult.

Vienna's team had just given the perfect performance, which gives Marley faith that under her rules, the New Directions could win Nationals, but they were a little robotic in comparison to the other team. Emily's team was sloppy and they definitely didn't seem anything close to well-rehearsed, but they had fun with it and even seemed to better understand what this club is about.

Maybe this club doesn't need a new Blaine. Blaine never sprung into action on his own, when things went awry. He always had a partner - he always had Sam to work alongside him.

"I'm going to need some time to think." Marley announces, many groans and exasperated sighs following her announcement. "I'll announce the winner on Monday. Have a nice weekend."

Marley knows what to do.

* * *

Joey's never been the type of person who is afraid to swallow his pride and admit that he is wrong. He quite likes that he's never been afraid to apologize or admit defeat, actually, and it would probably come in handy when he's dating Halley someday.

He knows his blind spot - it's understanding other people, and he always realizes a little too late that he's been a bit insensitive or that he's made somebody uncomfortable. It makes him wish that he were more... well, human, and less Wall-E. It makes him kind of wish he didn't worry about others and of how they perceived him, because he's always disappointed in how he comes across. He gets cocky because he knows he's smart, gets a little too carried away in the moment and ends up saying something stupid that he regrets later, on the rare occasion that he realizes he'd said something rude. It makes him wish that he didn't care about what others might think, and wouldn't be bothered if somebody called him illogical.

Joey wishes he were more like Zara.

"You must be wondering why I'm seemingly randomly approaching you." he says as he approaches her just outside the auditorium, where everybody else is gathering to chat with one another about the performances or head off in their own directions.

"No. You strike me as kind of random."

"Well, you should know that I've made the conscious decision to talk to you." Joey replies, walking alongside her - and boy, does she walk agonizingly slowly; he's so used to rushing around in a brisk. Although, the difference in the way they walk is perfect for the point he's about to make.

Zara lets out a grunt as she folds her arms tightly across her waist. "So that you can keep reminding me of how stupid I am?"

"No, and I didn't think that'd bother you so much."

"It mostly just makes me think you're a douche." she sniffs. She seems to be heading out, probably to go home, and Joey's got lacrosse practice, so he's got to make this fast.

"I don't want you to think that."

"Why does it matter what I think?" Zara asks rhetorically. Joey's got to be very careful in wording his answer - sometimes articulating his thoughts verbally is like firing a shot and missing the target by miles. Sometimes, Link or his sister has to point out to him that he's hurt somebody's even though he doesn't mean to, and he knows that Zara is quite sensitive, so he's got to choose his words carefully so not to give her the wrong idea.

"Because you're my soulmate."

Zara stops walking and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Well - so much for not giving her the wrong idea.

"I mean..." perhaps he should stop thinking so much and _just_ talk, "I began this week wondering why I like Halley so much and spent the past few days analyzing my experiences with her and after our friendly debate yesterday-"

" _Friendly_ debate?"

"-I realized that I like her because some part of me believes in soulmates too." he finishes. Zara doesn't say anything; instead, she just watches him and listens, and Joey just hopes that she doesn't zone out. "I'm sorry for saying that you're small-minded and idiotic when I've spent the past eight years pining over a girl I liked because she uncannily wore a Blossom t-shirt to school when that very morning I decided that Blossom is my favorite PowerPuff Girl. I can't deny that coincidences are more than just coincidences when I want them to be."

"It's alright." Zara replies with a small smile. "It's actually really cool that you're apologizing - people have called me a lot worse than small-minded and they've never apologized. _I've_ done a lot worse and I still haven't apologized for it. I don't even feel guilty for a lot of the crap I've pulled." After a short pause and thoughtful glance at the ceiling, she adds, "You never said I was idiotic."

"Actually, I said that behind your back to Link." Joey admits. "What I didn't say, however, was that you possess every quality that I envy in other people."

"Really?" she raises an eyebrow again.

"Of course." he nods. "There was once a time when people like me thought that logically, there's no way that the Earth could be anything but flat, and people like you who dared to express their seemingly wild ideas had turned out to be right. And while I'm never satisfied with simple explanations and am always looking for answers to questions like why I think Halley is the most beautiful and intelligent human being to ever grace this world, you are at peace with never knowing what you're curious to know. And where I'm probably too logical and not great at dealing with feelings, even when those feelings are my own, and you don't have to make a display of your emotions for me to know that you're all heart and almost no mind."

"No mind?" He's not sure what facial expression she's wearing, but she seems a little amused. Truthfully, he's a little irritated by how calm she is, since her tranquility crosses over into an ice cold demeanor, but not irritated enough to not want to get to know her more.

"I mean, you _have_ a mind. You just don't use it." Joey defends quickly, saving himself from the unintentional insult he'd just passed her. "It took a little bit of fine-tuning to your definition of the term 'soul mate,' but when I finally opened my mind to your fanciful belief, I realized that you are soul mate, because you fill in my gaps, and I've got so many of them."

He can't tell by Zara's facial expression what she'd about to say - he just really hopes that she'd not going to laugh at him.

"Well, I'm honored." is her reply, which causes Joey to grin widely. "But, you know I'm really _not_ , right?"

"Yes. Of course." he assures her, feeling his cheeks grow warm in embarrassment - he was afraid that such a misunderstanding might happen. "I meant out of everybody I know - friends, family members, acquaintances - you fill in my gaps best, as I do for you. I'm sorry if it sounded like I meant something else. My friendly, flirtatious charm tends to mislead a lot of girls."

"No, it wasn't that." Zara says with a laugh.

"So, friends?" Joey asks, holding out his hand for a formal shake.

Zara looks at his hand weirdly. "Do you usually shake hands with the people you want to be friends with?"

"Yes." Joey nods. "I'm afraid no form of human contact, or any _other_ form of human contact, might make them uncomfortable."

"Not friends" she shakes her head. "Truce."

"But... _gaps_." he argues, lowering his hand. "If we want to progress as people, don't you think it would benefit us if we'd be friends."

"You can't force a friendship. That's not how it works." Zara explains. Before he can reply, she says, "But I would love to get to know you better. After all, you're already the most badass person I know."

"Really?" Joey checks, trying to contain his excitement. He's never been called _badass_ before. "You think so?"

"You are literally the only guy I've ever met who openly gushes about the girl he likes. That takes a lot of nerve." Zara tells him, and Joey loves it, not only because he's always down for receiving compliments, but because the compliments he receives is usually limited to "Joey, you're so smart!" or "Great goal!" or "Cool magic trick!" and never really have anything to do with his personality.

"Also, because everyone is always smirking like a bunch of smug, condescending sons-of-a-bitches," she continues, "and you're always smiling."

He's not exactly sure what she means - he'll deconstruct her analogy later - but her comment sounds like a compliment, so he says, "Thank you."

Joey clears his throat and holds out his hand once again. " _Almost_ friends?"

Zara smiles very sweetly. "Sure." Instead of going for the handshake, she hugs him sort of sloppily, and as he's about to hug her back, she pulls away. This feels awkward for Joey, but he likes this smiley, hugging side of her far more than the cold and aloof one he's seen just a few minutes ago.

Joey feels like he's made progress throughout this week alone. On Monday, all he wanted was for Halley to like him, and today, he not only has some of his answer, but he's trying not to stress to much in trying to figure out the rest of it. Most of all, he's happy that he's spent today expending his energy on a performance for glee club and on trying to befriend somebody he's got a lot to learn from.

Joey feels like he's already grown.

For some reason, Joey feels compelled to check the time, and when he glances at his watch, it hits him - he's late for lacrosse.

* * *

"We _both_ win?" Vienna asks. "What was the point of this assignment if you were going to pick both of us?"

Marley nods and smiles. "I realized that the glee club needs leaders like both of you."

Both girls simply look at Marley questioningly, but Marley remains unfazed by the fact that they seem disappointed. It's Monday, and a few minutes before the first glee meeting of the week, and Marley thought it would be best to break the news to Vienna and Emily before she announces them as captains to the entire club.

"I know that you both probably worked really hard and wanted to find out who the actual winner is," Marley says, "but don't you think it's better this way?"

Both girls shake their heads. Vienna stands tall, with her feet apart and her arms crossed, looking at Marley with an eyebrow raised. Emily, on the other hand, stands with her head bowed and her right leg crossed over her right, as she plays with her fingers.

"Honestly, I only wanted to find a leader for this club because I didn't think I would be a good one." Marley admits. "I wanted somebody to do my work for me. Instead, I found two people I can learn a lot from, who make me _want_ to work harder."

Marley doesn't believe her candor will be too well-received, as she'd just admitted to being lazy, but she does feel it is the right thing to say in this moment.

She _does_ have a lot to learn from these girls. Yes, she's proud that she's got a job and is earning money, but she still dreams of being a star, and she doesn't have half of Vienna's dedication, determination and diligence in trying to achieve that. And while she sits around hoping that the current members of the New Directions genuinely enjoy being in this club, she hasn't tried to create a warm and fun environment where they feel free to be themselves and to get to now one another the way Sean claims Emily has.

"Look, this club needs somebody who is nurturing and makes everyone feel comfortable." Marley continues to explain. Gosh, how on Earth is she going to say the next part without revealing that they've got no choice but to win Nationals if they want the club to stick around? "And there's really no point in having a glee club if we don't participate in competitions, and to be able to move forward you guys need to have a leader who pushes you to work hard and to be the best you can be."

Marley sighs in relief at her quick-thinking. Some day, she's going to have to tell the New Directions that their place at the school is only temporary. That day is, thankfully for Marley, not today.

"The glee club needs both of you," she finishes, "and it needs you to be able to work together. Can you do it that?"

Emily smiles shyly, glancing at Marley and then at Vienna, and saying, "Of course."

Vienna simply offers a warm smile at Emily and a nod to say yes.

Like some kind of dork, whose life revolves around a nerdy after-school club - which, let's face it, it _does_ at this point - Marley grins and bounces excitedly on her feet. "Great!"

* * *

 **Songs featured** :

 **I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)** by The Proclaimers - sung by Landon Holt.

 **New Romantics** by Taylor Swift - sung by Sean Yamazaki, Blaze Foster, Joey Dooley, Emily Lee, Frankie Cavillini and Zara Nasser.

 **Uptown Funk** by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - sung by Tate Burnett, Halley Akerman, Landon Holt, Sara Castillo, Link Foster and Vienna Harper.

* * *

 **Question of the chapter:**

Who is your favorite character so far?

* * *

 ** _Next chapter:_**

 ** _Classic Halley Akerman_**

 _The girls and the boys of the New Directions go up against each other in a battle of the sexes with a twist - both teams have to sing a song by an artist of the opposite sex while putting a spin on the arrangement of the song. Frankie tries her best to regain her social status and makes an unlikely friend along the way, while Blaze makes an observation that earns him an enemy. Many members of the glee club band together against a common enemy._


End file.
